Kamen Rider Xtreme Act 5: End Game
by guncannon109
Summary: This is the way it all ends.
1. Series Recap

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hey all, guncannon109 here. I know it's been awhile since I've touched the world of Xtreme and I believe you all deserve an explanation. Life happened and I began to feel as though I should just drop this fic all together as I am a much different person now from when I first started it. That was what I honestly believed and I carelessly left it in the dirt to pursue other projects. However you never fall out of love with your first creation and Xtreme was and always will be mine, so leaving it in it's unfinished state just felt wrong to me, the series and most importantly all you readers. So here's the deal, we are going to refocus. Since I know it's been awhile, A LONG WHILE, I will offer two options. You can either A go back and re-read the first four acts OR if your new to this series or just want to refresh yourself, you can back and re-read the trials and adventures of Alex and company in full. Regardless of which one you choose, I will be providing a summary of all four acts along with the Magika Crossover and Xtreme's summer special along with an in retrospect 20/20 Thought post at the end of each summary for each segment of this beast of a project. I hope you all enjoy the ride. **

**Kamen Rider Xtreme - Act Five: End Game is about to start!**

**Act 1: Dopant Hunter**  
Alex is gifted a locked case containing the X Driver and six gaia memories by Police Chief Gordon Sampson and Officer Johnathan Marcoh requested by his mother Alice in her will. After an encounter with the Spite Dopant, Alex dawns the X Driver and becomes Kamen Rider Xtreme. Spite as a member of an organization known as META sets their sights on Alex.

Spite, as ordered by her commander Vainglory sends her cat Cheshire as the Gorge Dopant to reclaim the X Driver. Suspicions rise from Sampson and Alex's best friend Cole as the rider begins acting strange. Alex is hospitalized as a result of an encounter with Gorge, Sampson questioning him after finding the gaia memories in his possession. Upon determining his innocence, Sampson tells Alex everything and once the Gorge dopant is dealt with Alex is appointed as an agent of the law.

As a result of Spite's failure, Vainglory turns to his second in command Fury who enlist his own agent Fury to deal with the Kamen Rider. Alex is momentarily defeated by Flame after Sarah Gardner becomes caught up in the fray, Alex being able to take down Flame after a change in strategy, earning the respect of Flame in the process. Alex is given both the X Cyclone motorbike and the title of Kamen Rider by Sampson.

After the Flame ordeal, Alex and Cole are invited by Madison Tyler to a day at the waterpark after Ashley Haze finds herself with a surplus of tickets. Sarah Gardner is not pleased with Alex's presence but gets over it quick. The water park is attacked by the water controlling Shift Dopant, who had also stolen a valuable necklace (the Eye of Luna) along with many other priceless pieces of artwork before hand. Shift gets away momentarily but it's quickly uncovered that Ashley herself is the one behind it all, needing the money to support her father. Shift is defeated and Ashley arrested with Marcoh informing Alex that with hope, she'll get out early on good behavior.

Things simmer down until Greg Walker, the man who killed Alex's mother, is released from prison. Alex is warned from both Marcoh and Sampson to not pursue him but does so anyway, learning that Greg is the powerful Shredder Dopant. After Alex survives the encounter, he runs into Tara Archer who gives him a pep talk while Cole, Madison and Sarah learn the truth of who Alex is. Madison falling head over heels for him as a result. With reassurance from his friends, Alex charges off to confront the Shredder and is able to defeat him with the help of Marcoh, Sampson and the rest of the police force.

**20/20 Thoughts**

Honestly I was fairly impressed with how well Act One held up in my eyes. Now obviously the quality of it is a mess since I didn't edit squat back when I wrote it, but it was fun to write and the low stacks of it makes it fun to go back to. Are there things I would change? Hell yeah, but as it is I'm happy with it.

**Movie Taisen Zeta**

In france, a Wizard based Kamen Rider named Magika mourns over the Ringed Wizard Haruto Souma forgetting her. She is greeted by a local boy named Pierre who is quickly taken by her, the boy turning out to be a gate right under her nose. That night, she has nightmares of her inner phantom Pegasus being attacked by a phantom named Voodoo and four others based on Magika's elemental styles. The five phantoms break off from her. Magika hunts them down one by one before finally coming face to face with Voodoo himself. The battle is brutal and Voodoo manages to take Magika's life, only for her to be revived by Pierre pushing through his despair and becoming a wizard himself. Voodoo is about to gear up for another fight but senses a strong power elsewhere and chases after it.

Meanwhile back in Ardent City, a powerful dopant uses the images of Flame, Shift and Shredder to go after Alex. Alex's only salvation coming from the return of Joel Revant, the Inertia Dopant and former leader of META. The two talk and with Inertia's help Alex is able to defeat the dopant behind it all, revealing himself to be the Illusion Dopant. The chaos appears to be over, however the one in possession of the Illusion Memory is none other than the Voodoo Phantom and after cravely injuring Alex he escapes through a portal baiting Alex to follow.

Alex leaps through the portal and finds himself atop Ardent Secondary School, Voodoo cackling as Magika arrives to fight the phantom. Magika uses her magic to heal Alex and translate everything he says to negate the language barrier between them, Voodoo transporting them to a rock quarry for their final fight. Voodoo consumes the Illusion memory and ascends into a violet warlock form and unleashes zombified forms of Flame, Shift and Shredder along with the defeated Phantoms. Working together, Alex and Magika defeat the zombie minions and reach Voodoo. Pierre teleports in to help as the newly awakened Kamen Rider Sorcerer, giving Magika and Alex a pair of rings that grant Magika her final form (Showtime) and grants Alex the ability to use his Star Runner, Blade Kicker and Blast Diver forms at the same time. Voodoo is defeated, Pierre proposes to Magika, an image of Alice appears before Alex and a yellow wind based rider appears to watch over the fight with a smirk eager to get involved.

**20/20 Thoughts**

Zeta was fun to work on as a collab with Tokunation user KamenRiderOOO but honestly I feel like I phoned my segment in a little. OOO stole the show with Magika with moments that had me on the edge of my seat and that final confrontation with Voodoo made my heart drop like you wouldn't believe. Head on over to Tokunation if you haven't looked at it and give OOO the praise he deserves. He also does custom figures if that's suits your fancy. He's an awesome guy so spam his inbox and tell him old Gunny sent you.

**Act 2 Wind and Earth**  
Word spreads of a pair of bear like dopants, Major and Minor, who attack female singers with beautiful voices as Jeane Evonna comes to the station to ask for protection for his daughter Thea who has a performance that night. Alex is placed on guard duty but as the dopant twins attack the stage, Thea Evonna is revealed to be Tara Archer, and with her yellow bird partner Kree becomes Kamen Rider Gale. Alex and Tara but heads, Madison confiding in Tara about her anxiety about asking out Alex by informing her she's never even kissed anyone. Tara solves this by stealing Madison's first kiss, Madison too flustered to let anyone know. Alex and Tara join forces and take on the twin Dopants. Minor losing his life in defense of his sister with Major being arrested after grief and anger overwhelm her. After Zix is arrested, Madison confesses her feelings to Alex and the two start dating.

Fury, after witnessing his many pawns fail and fearing Vainglory catching wind of his plans to overthrow him, attacks the riders head on and captures Alex, Kree and Madison. Joel Revant, aka the Inertia Dopant, reappears and gifts Tara the Rock Driver and it sparks a rescue effort from her, Sarah and Cole. Sarah attempts to use the Rock Driver but her unstable emotions result in it failing to bond with her, and a direct brutal attack from Fury leads Sarah to pass it onto Cole. Cole becomes Kamen Rider Rock and Fury is pushed into a retreat as Alex, Tara and Cole stand as one.

The damage from Fury was dealt however as the hospitalized Sarah learns she is paralyzed from the waist down and may never walk again. That is however until Fury comes to her with a way out in the form of the Reptilian gaia memory, offering to plant it inside her and restore her legs. This is a deal that Sarah accepts. As the memory grows within Sarah, Fury attacks in his upgrades Ruthless form which holds the power of previously defeated dopants. Fortune is not on the rider's side however, after Sarah confesses her feelings towards Madison, the memory inside her goes berserk and consumes her. Fury determines he has done enough damage and retreats as he figures Reptilian will take care of the riders for him. That is when the one thing no one expects occurs and Madison jumps into the fray, becoming impaled by Reptilian's tail which allows Sarah to come back to her senses. Within Sarah's moment of clarity, she asks Alex to end things to which he regretfully agrees. As Sarah crumbles to dust and scatters to the wind, Inertia appears and offers a way to save Madison but at a cost of her memory of the past three years. Alex accepts and upon realizing his failure, casts aside the title of Kamen Rider.

**20/20 Thoughts**

So where do I begin with this… Personally, I could have done this a lot better. Madison could've had a bigger spine when she was captured by Fury and I am still to this day kicking myself for falling ass backwards into the bury your gays trope. Plus, while I fully stand by the quality of An Untimely Farewell on its own, it is a gut puncher that I kinda feel broke the series in a way I wasn't prepared to deal with. If I were to rewrite this, I would rethink dumping two of my best and most well liked characters at the same time for the sake of drama and shock value. To make a long story short, I felt this act was great as I was writing it but my god it hurts the most in retrospect. Certainly something I would reconsider if I had to do it over again.

**Act 3: Ice and Fire**  
Cole and Tara continue fighting dopants as Alex deludes himself with his new normal. A new student, Shiore Fubuki, quickly puts together that Cole and Tara are Rock and Gale and falsely concludes the identity of Alex. Isolating Alex from his friends via occupying them with ice clone attacks elsewhere in the city, Shiore ambushes Alex and revealing herself as Kamen Rider Yuki declares her intent to kill him. Cole intervenes and Shiore leaves in a huff, the gaia memories that Tara forced into Alex's bag proving her deduction wrong. Cole smacks Alex around for being a sulk, Ashley returning to give Alex a pep talk after Cole leaves in a fit of anger in pursuit of Shiore. Fury corners Shiore and attempts to recruit her, she refusing resulting in Fury going on the attack. Tara and Cole rush to her aid, Tara sending Kree to fetch Alex who rushes over with a new resolve and a promise to never fail in protecting anyone again. One Fury is sent running by the four riders, Shiore explains that the three riders Rock, Gale and Yuki once belonged to three great clans Iwa, Kazumaki, and Shirayuki and that a fourth clan, Kazai exists and its rider has been given a new form. Ryu-O, the rider of fire, and that she aims to end him for destroying what remained of the Shirayuki clan. Time was on their side however as Rylee Damon, Carter Damon successfully finishes the activation test for the Ryu-O driver, Vainglory tasking Fury to duel him as a test with a corrosive spike being injected into his arm as motivation. The duel between Fury and Ryu-O breaks into the city, catching the attention of Shiore with the help of her Gaia Memory Radiation (GMR) Scanner. Alex, Cole, Tara and Shiore join forces and travel to the fight with motivation to take out both Fury and Ryu-O, Tara confiding in Cole that she has memory gaps as a result of a freak hurricane that engulfed the city seven years ago. The riders arrive to the sight of Ryu-O hacking off Fury's corroded arm before burning him alive with the flame emitters in the palms of his hands. Shiore goes berserk and recklessly attacks, Ryu-O overpowering her due to his more stable emotional state. The other riders use their combined strength to fend off Ryu-O and break his transformation which knocks him out cold. This earns the respect and gratitude of Shiore who vows to help them so long as they in turn help her. Tara meanwhile is on edge while Carter is brought in for questioning as she seems to recognize his face from somewhere. Carter is brought into the station for questioning but Marcoh and Sampson do not get far as Vainglory attacks from the shadows to retrieve Carter and the Ryu-O driver. Interia arrives at META HQ, Vainglory and Spite taking him in.

With the station being repaired and no leads being found, the riders are asked by Sampson and Marcoh to take some time to breath, Tara roping Shiore and Cole to with her to her father's cafe the Cat's Eye while Alex does some research on a recurring dream he's been having about five riders and the end of the world. A mysterious man named Tsukasa arrives in Ardent City while another man named Kaito steals a valuable case from Marcoh and Sampson that was left to them by Alice. Tsukasa meets Alex in the library and informs him he is a rider himself named Decade, the two having a discussion while getting some air as the Glitch Dopant Attacks. Elsewhere, Tara is heartbroken to see that he father's cafe location had been moved with Hikari Studio's in its place. After some violent words from Tara the trio is invited in for coffee, which is interrupted by a call to action from Marcoh. The four riders and Decade corner the Glitch Dopant just as he fries the X Driver, with Carter arriving to take him offline as a result of his failure to stick to orders. Carter arriving sparks conflict among the riders which results in Tsukasa deeming them unworthy of being Kamen Riders at all. He declares war on Carter, Cole, Tara and Shiore, a conflict so devastating that it resets the world. Alex as a result wakes to a world with no riders, Cole and Tara not knowing anything, Sarah being alive, Carter being the older brother of Tara and Shiore nowhere is sight. After a freak out in class upon realizing what exactly is happening, Sarah lends him her aid by locating Shiore for, noting that she's a transfer student at an elite prep school. Alex bolts to find her, explaining that he knows about the four clans which thankfully is still something that exists in this timeline. Cole, Carter and Tara naturally cluster together due to Alex's influence with Kaito finding them and bringing them to Alex. Decade launches another attack on Alex and Shiore but it is thwarted by Natsumi and Yuusuke, Kaito making it to Alex's side with Tara, Cole and Carter just in time. Decade challenges Alex to one final fight, dispatching clones of the eight heisei riders that came before him to occupy the others as Cole, Tara, Carter and Shiore regain their powers. The four elemental riders fighting side by side sparks a reaction from the case Kaito stole, its contents breaking free in the form of the Xtreme Memory. It sores to Alex and connects to the X Driver, fixing it and the world sending Alex to and Tsukasa to a white void where Alice Darwin is waiting for them. She asks them what they wish to do, and they both tell her they will fight to protect what they believe in. Alice smiles and wishes them luck, telling Alice she loves him and giving him the name Xtreme before sending them back to the original timeline before Glitch broke the X Driver. Alex, Cole, Tara, Shiore, Carter, Tsukasa, Kaito, Natsumi and Yuusuke confront the glitch Dopant together, Alex achieving his final form which gives the riders the power they need to finally defeat him. Victorious, Tsukasa's group departs, but not before telling Alex. "That Driver... I have seen only one other like it. It is owned by a strong rider, and one I respect. I hope that in time you can become just as strong as them."

**20/20 Thoughts**

Definitely my most ambitious act and one I am still proud of to this day, lack of editing notwithstanding. Thinking back to the events I still look back fondling to a lot of it. If I were to change anything I would trim a few things down or just format everything better and.. You know, maybe not rip several key scenes right from the Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya? Honestly, I'm shocked I did that and even more shocked more people didn't call me out on it.

I'm gonna let you all in on a dirty secret, this was the act that I wanted to get rid of Sarah and Madison for to write as it was all planned out before I wrote the first chapter and… well Sarah and Madison weren't involved, in fact they weren't even in the series bible at all and they just came into existence while I was writing everything. Yeah you could argue that their lose was useful in putting Alex in a depressed funk and lead to a lot of really good scenes but I should have greatly reconsidered whether or not it was the right decision to stick to my guns or consider an alternate path that didn't involve something so brutal and super cliche. Either way though, the Decade arc was a key storyline I had built the series around and I am so very glad it was as well received as it was. You guys rock, really you do.

**Xtreme Special - Summer Wars**  
Fury's brother Anton Maverick is freed from prison by a mysterious woman, receiving a driver from her along with the Vulpergiest memory. Alex and the other riders spent a summer afternoon at the city waterpark, running into Madison who does not remember him. They chat but soon go their separate ways just as a water based Kamen Rider attacks Tara and Shiore from the water named Lurentia. Alex and Cole are about to jump in when the electric rider Gamma-Ray catches them by quarrel is only stopped by the arrival of Kamen Rider Fata, to which Alex is stunned speechless believing he had seen a ghost. Meanwhile, a couple kamen rider duo of wood and steel named Corodoron and Slicer attack Carter while he's shopping but manages to fend them off. The riders all cluster together, Vulpergiest making his grand entrance as the fake Fata betrays the riders, swiping the Xtreme Memory from Alex. Vulpergiest declares war upon our heroes before unleashing an attack so devastating that it traps them underground.

Alex and Shiore take on Gamma-Ray, Shiore activating her Shira form with Alex taking her yuki memory to dawn the temp combo Star Yuki which allows them to take down the electric whip master. Tara and Cole find themselves trapped with Slicer and Corodoron, Cole and Tara finding the strength to overcome them. The riders make their way to the surface, Carter facing off against Laurentia in a sudden death duel as Marcoh and Sampson block off Ardent Tower which the evil riders have taken as a command point. Alex and Shiore charge through the blockade, Vulpergiest attaching the Xtreme Memory to his spear and begins unleashing a wave of nightmare energy upon the city.

Gamma-ray blocks Alex and Shiore's ascent, but the electric rider is intercepted by the debut of Kamen Rider Jayd who offers to deal with Gamma-Ray herself as a favor between riders. Alex and Shiore combine to form Kamen Rider Zoltan to defeat Vulpergiest before he lays waste to the city with Madison cheering them from the side lines, having bolted there from her parents' car after seeing the battle from afar. Vulpergiest is defeated and peace to the city restored. The fake Fata escapes and casts her gaia memory and driver aside to reveal the Desire dopant memory, changing into a succubus, informing an orange ring on her finger there is more to come.

**Note:** This marked the first appearance of Kamen Rider Jayd, now Dungeon Crawler Jayd. None Kamen Rider based reboot is currently in the works.

**20/20 Thoughts**

I'll be honest, I had fun designing the evil riders but I found myself getting bored with this special rather quickly. All in all I felt that I needed to have solely to have it and I'm pretty sure it shows. It wasn't all bad though, some scenes were fun and interesting write like Alex meeting Madison at the waterpark they had first met at and showcasing Jayd for the first time ever was a blast.

Even so, I think it shows that this wasn't something I put my A Game into. I just kinda wanted it to be finished and done with… Oh and I ripped off the birth of Omnimon in this dammit! Thankfully I was called out on that one, but still that is unacceptable. I am a professional I swear.

Oh! And the guy who got stuck to Alex's bike was the main character from Kamen Rider Exor, also from KamenRiderOOO but I completely forgot to make that credit. Again, super professional.

**Xtreme Act 4: Bonds**  
A new semester begins, Alex meeting Sarah's older brother Vince at her Crave after school to find that his father has returned after so many years. Alex is pissed but after prodding from everyone decides that giving Jason a chance might actually be a good idea. This turns out to be the wrong choice as, after an attack by the dopant named Crave and his rouge faction Genesis, Jason reveals himself to be Vainglory. Madison meets a musician named Larc Pearlman with unknown ties to Genesis and the two start dating. Ashley checks up on her while extending a hand to Alex as a sign that she has changed for the better. As Carter attempts to mend bridges between him and Shiore, as well as make up for lost time with Tara, Ms Seraphina takes up shop as a teacher at West Ardent Secondary School. It is soon revealed to the audience but not to the riders that she is the Desire Dopant, a partner of Crave who turns out to be Vince Gardner and Rylee's cat Cheshire is shown to have been Kat Swindler, an agent of the Desire Dopant.

A few filler chapters build tension such as Time-Bomb, which after strapping a bomb to Carter and a young girl named Becky gives him the Phoenix memory and he upgrades to his final form Phoenix Ryu-O with the help of the dragon spirit of fire Ryujin. Its after a battle with time-bomb alongside Carter that Alex learns he can only use the Xtreme memory when all five riders are working toward the same goal.

Carter offers to take the other riders to META HQ but is shock when he finds his normal way in has been destroyed. The cyber dopant then locks Carter and Shiore in a d&d style pocket dimension where they are forced to work together. Alex, Tara and Cole try fight off Cyber in the real world to release their allies. Shiore learns to trust Carter and the two break out, Cyber being defeated by the riders with Cole obtaining the Biter memory from one of Cyber's minions. Tara's memories are returned to her suddenly, knocking her out due to the shock. Before the riders can take in Cyber for questioning, META introducing into combat their X2 Troopers, soldiers using copies of Xtremes Star, Blade and Blast memories. They thank Carter for his help before informing him he is being discharge due to treason. Carter protests, and the other riders help him in fighting them when the troopers open fire on him.

The inverse dopant turns Alex into a girl, Cole helping Tara and Carter reconcile as Cole gives Carter a place to stay in his family's building. Ashley investigates the past dopants with Marcoh, leading her to Zix Crator the Major Dopant for answers. She regains the Shift memory and dangles the Major memory in front of Zix, hoping to get something out of her. Ashley's attempts fail and after the Inverse Dopant is defeated, Zix steals her memory back and breaks from prison swearing to take revenge on the riders.

**20/20 Thoughts**

Act Four is a mess, plain and simple. Various personal issues kept me from keeping focus and I kept throwing various ideas at the board to see what stuck and very little of it actually did. If I were to go back, I would liven up the tone a lot, simplifying the plot alot and drop the Inverse Arc entirely or just have it so Alex goes back to normal at the end. Either way, I would make sure to stick to my original and have the act end with Major's Revenge instead of just having it lead into it. All in all, Act Four is just a whole lot of waffling around without much forward progression happening. Arcs like the introduction and Time-Bomb are really good and still hold up, but Cyber could have been done so much better and Inverse needed to be more fun if I was going to keep it at all. Looking back, it's just a mismanaged mess that almost made me lose interest in this series all together until I worked out how to salvage it.


	2. Episode 35: The Major's Revenge

**Xtreme Act 5: Episode 35 The Major's Revenge**

Alex sat on a stool in a freshly cleaned hospital room, his eyes following the light that was being shown in them by a doctor of japanese descent. Sampson stood beside the doctor, with Cole and Ashley sitting patiently on set of chairs off to the side.

"Well doc, what do you think?" Sampson asked, his arms crossed as he gave a good look at the boy in front of him, "Is he gonna be alright?"

"Oh yes, all the effects of the dopant's attacks have seemed to have faded," the doctor said with a nod, "Just like a bad cold."

"So, Inverse was just spewing a lot of crap about it being permanent?" Alex asked as his eyes adjusted from the exposure to light, holding closed for a moment out of reflex.

"Looks like it," Sampson smiled, messing up the boy's hair a bit, "good to have you back to normal kid."

"Kind of a shame though, you did make such a useless lesbian," Ashley teased him, "Now, you're just useless."

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Alex called out, rubbing his eye.

"That as a girl your incompetence was cute, but as a guy its just sad," Ashley teased him some more, sticking her tongue out at him.

Alex's face flushed bright red, balling his hand into a fist, "Why I outta!"

"Dude, she's messing with you!" Cole laughed, raising a hand in Ashley's defense.

"I know, I just... Feel personally attacked," Alex crosses his arms with a pout.

Ashley smirked and raised a brow, "Wounded even?"

Alex glared at her, "Hurt... Ash."

"Well, as fun as hearing the two of you bicker is, I gotta get going," Cole stretched as he got up, "Gordon, make sure Alex gets home safe?"

Sampson nodded with a grin, "Sure thing Cole."

"Say hi to Tara for me," Ashley waved as Cole went over to the door.

"Will do," Cole waved back as he headed out, making sure the door was closed behind him.

Alex paused for a moment, gawking at Sampson as he cocked up his brow, "Since when were you two on a first name basis?"

"Don't we have more pressing matters Alex?" Sampson looked at him, raising a brow of his own, "I already have Marcoh working double time trying to track that mad woman down."

"Yeah... Major..." Alex slumped back on his stool, "Shiore wasn't able to find her on her scanner, so its possible she hasn't made any moves yet."

"This is all my fault," Ashley let out a sigh, smacking herself in the head, "I shouldn't have walked in there with her memory in hand. It was stupid, and know we're all in deep shit for it."

"Whats done is done Ms Haze, there's no point in beating ourselves up about it," Sampson told her, placing his hand on her shoulder, "We'll find her, and we'll put her behind bars where she belongs."

"I know... But... What about the other prisoners, the ones she brutalized?" Ashley asked, "I spoke to a few of them, they weren't completely evil... They didn't deserve what she did to them."

"They were marred up.. but they should recover with time," Sampson spoke, being able to feel a glare from Alex.

"Does that include Walker?" Alex asked bluntly, clenching the leg of his pants.

"What's done is done, Alex," Sampson told him, giving the boy a good look in the eye, "I thought we went over that."

"I know… we did, but it still pisses me off the think about him," Alex huffed, hanging his head. "I won't forgive him, I never will."

(Insert Opening Credit Sequence - "Alones" by Aqua Timez)

Far across town, in the dimly lit shroud of the bar Devil's Nest, Ms Seraphina sat sipping a tall glass of wine under candle light. A figure moves in the shadows behind her, Ms Seraphina simply smirking as she finishes the last sip of her drink.

"Well," she calls out to the shadows, "are you going to come in, or just stand there gawking at me?"

With a click of her heel, Zix emerges from the shadows with a stone cold glare on her face and her Major gaia memory gripped tightly in her hand.

"Bring out your dogs Desire," Zix snarls at her, "all of them."

Seraphina raises her hand, "It looks like you caught me." She snaps her fingers, "You heard her, come out all of you."

On cue, Vince emerge from behind the bar followed by the Harpy and Glave both in their dopant forms. Zix scans the trio with her eyes, sucking her teeth before locking eyes once again with Serpahina.

"I said all of them," she narrowed her gaze, "where is Fury?"

"You mean you don't know?" Seraphina's gaze softened, like a mother looking at a child who's puppy just died, "He was killed, by those Kamen Riders."

"Figures," Zix sucks her teeth again, "fine… guess I'll just take care of those pests myself. Fury being gone only means I have one life left to take after all." She went to leave, but Glave and Harpy blocked the door.

"Not one more step Zix," Vince glared at her, "See we have personal business with the riders ourselves. We can't just have you chopping their heads off as you please."

"Oh?" Zix glared at him, cracking her neck to reveal her memory connect on her collarbone before holding up her gaia memory, "Then just try to stop me."

"MAJOR!" the memory cried out, Zix ramming it into her skin as it transformed her into the form of a large humanoid bear.

"HARPY! GLAVE!" Vince barked to the feathered beast and the male covered in serrated blades, "RESTRAIN HER!"

Before Harpy or Glave could so much as move muscle, Major conjured bright violet energy around her claws before cleaving both of their throats, the two falling to the ground before turning to dust without a trace of them remaining.

"Well… do you have anything else to say?" Major glared back to Vince, who stood frozen in place. Vince fell silent, Major returning to her form as Zix after pulling her memory out from her neck, "Just as I thought." She cracked open the door and stepped out, "Well, I will be going to pay those riders a visit. Goodnight, Vince."

Without a single word more, Zix slammed the door which snapped Vince back to his senses. He slapped his driver onto his waist before proceeding to pull his Crave Gaia Memory out, only for Seraphina to hold his hand out to block his path.

"No… let her go," she told him simply.

"Why?!" He barked, shooting his arm around to the dust that remained of his comrades, "She just butured Harpy and Clave! You expect me to just sit here and do nothing?!"

Seraphina turned her head to look him in the eye, her face shifting to a spitting image of Sarah's, Vince jumping back as a result. "If you still wish to get what you want, then you will know this hill is not one worth dying on. This is her grave, not yours."

Vince grumbled only for a moment, balling his hand into a fist, "Fine… have it your way."

Seraphina simply smirked, "Oh believe me I will." she told him as if it were a matter of fact, gazing at an image of Cole inside her amber ring "I always do."

Cole walked down a somewhat deserted sidewalk as he strolled along Ardent's downtown core. He held a plastic bag in his hand all while having a smile on his face. This changed after a moment when he spotted Kat, pouting on a bus stop and kicking at the ground.

"Kat?" He asked with a raised brow as he came up to her, "Something wrong?"

"No.. it's just…" she wacked her head on the steel pole marking the bus stop, "I lost my bus fare like an idiot. Now I don't know how I'm gonna get home."

"Oh.. I see…" he fished in his pocket and managed to find a quarter along with a two dollar coin. "I gotta a spare toonie and a quarter I could spot you. That should be just enough for one way."

Kat's face lit up, pressing her hand against her chest in a dainty manor as she sniffled a bit, "Oh Cole.. you'd do that for me?" She asked as she wiped her eye a bit.

"Yeah, of course," he smiled at her, "Friends help friends after all, right?"

"Oh thank you!" she shot up to her feet, taking the change as she hugged him before kissing him on the cheek. "You're the best, I love you!" She cheered, kissing him on the cheek before nuzzling into his face.

"It's not that big a deal.. And settle down there," He managed an awkward bit of laughter as he pulled her off him, setting her down firm on the ground, "I'm in a committed relationship you know."

"Oh yes, miss Flywheels," Kat grinned with a giggle, batting her at Cole as a bus rolled up to the curb, "and how is she doing these days?"

"Not bad, she should be out with family right about now," he pointed at the bus doors as they opened, "and that should be your ride."

"We always have such bad timing, don't we?" Kat pouted, placing her hand on the door of the bus. "When are we gonna get a chance to talk things out?"

"Not now," Cole laughed as he guided her onto the bus, "I'll see you at school, okay?"

The doors closed, Kat smiling at him and waving to him. Cole in turned let out a huff before waving back to her only for her to in turn blow him a kiss as the bus drove off.

Cole sighed and shook his head, "How many times do I gotta tell that girl that no mean no?" He huffed as he continued on his way. The thought continued to loom in his mind, resulting in him letting out a groan as he fished out his cell phone and brought up Tara's number. "I gotta talk to Tara about this." He declared as he hit the call button and brought the phone to his ear.

It wrung only twice and, at a carnival across town, Tara picked up the phone by a street lamp just as Carter knocked down a stack of cans with a baseball.

"Hey Rocky, what's up?" she sang, "Thought you were going to see the Ice Queen after the hospital?"

"I'm on my way there now my Hurricane," Cole told her, "you gotta minute? I need to talk with you about something."

"Is Kat still flirting with you?" Tara asked him out right.

Cole gulped, beginning to sweat, "Y-You know about that?"

"Um, duh?" Tara laughed, "The girl isn't exactly subtle, like a ninja with bells on."

"So, you aren't concerned?" Cole asked, "You know I'm faithful right?"

"Yep and yep Rocky," Tara sang as Carter knocked down another pile of cans. "Besides, if she anything with you I'll clock her in the head. How does that sound?"

Cole laughed nervously, a bead of sweat running down his forehead, "Could we not resort to violence when possible?"

"What, I'm an eagle that marks her territory. Anyone who comes knocking over my rock is just asking for it, I don't care if it's a boy or a girl." Tara boasted, Carter making his way over with a large pink teddy bear. "I gotta go, just keep that in mind okay my sweets?"

"I will, love you," Cole let out a sigh of relief.

"Love you too, gotta go bye," she blew a kiss into the phone before hanging up and shoving it away. "Yay! It's so cute!" She squealed before hugging the giants stuffed animal before ripping it from her brother's arms, her upper body melting into the fuzziness.

Carter blinked, "You don't have a problem with it being pinkie? Isn't that… kind of cliche?"

"Cuteness overrides gender stereotypes," she glared at him, poking Carter on the nose before shoving the bear's face into his. As she did, she regained her cat like smirk, "Besides! Look at that little face!"

Carter pushed the toy away, spitting out fur from the bear that had invaded his mouth, "Yeah, I'm looking at it. Can we get something to eat now? I'm starved."

"No! We gotta win another game!" Tara protested, grabbing him by the collar.

"We've won like, fifteen already," he told her, pointing to a wagon of giant stuffed animals beside Tara, "Isn't that enough?"

"But… I was enjoying spending time with my big bro," she let out a heartbroken coo, dawning the biggest puppy dog face imaginable. "D-Do you not love me as much as I thought you did?"

Carter stared into her eyes, a blank expression coming over him before he let out a simple sigh and admitted defeat. "Fine, but this is the last one okay?"

"VICTORY!" Tara cheered, raising the giant bear above her head before shoving the bear under her arm and grabbing the wagon handle before strutting down the walkway of stalls, "Let's go break another game!"

Moments later, Cole was walking down a long white hallway that lead to Shiore's condo, bag in hand and a worried look on his face. After a moment he let out a sigh as he grin returned.

"Yeah, Tara's right. What do I have to worry about really?" he spoke allowed as he came to Shiore's door, "I mean all I've gotta do is just not humor any of her advances, how hard could that be? Still… if she does try anything, I'd feel bad if Tara ended up actually hurting her…" he thought for a moment before shaking his head, "Not gonna get anywhere thinking like that."

He raised his hand and knocked on the door. "Come in!" Shiore's voice echoed from the other side of the door.

Cole opened the door and stepped in to see Shiore hard at work tinkering with a gaia memory and several other disassembled devices scattered atop the coffee table in the center of her living room. Cole stepped in.

He took only a step forward before Shiore calling out to him once again, "Shoes."

"Oh, right," Cole looked down, Shiore keeping her eyes fixed on her project. "Sorry about that, I keep forgetting."

He slipped his shoes off before closing the door behind him. Placing the bag in his hands on the table beside Shiore, he took a seat on the couch behind her.

"Brought you a snack," he told her, Shiore not even looking up at him.

"Thanks," she continued working.

"So… any luck?" he asked, eyeing the memory marked with a B that she held. The word Biter was still emblazoned in small letters on the side of the label.

"Not in the slightest," Shiore told him, holding it up to the light, "Where did you say you got this again?"

"One of Cyber's minions dropped it," Cole reminded her, "It didn't shatter when it went down, so I kept it thinking it might be useful… Should I not have?"

"No, what you did was right," Shiore informed him, taking another crack at it as she grabbed a few parts on the table, "This memory seems to be completely fried however. I might be able to get it working again, but I'm going to need an exterior power source for it."

"That's what's stumping you?" Cole asked her, "Why not just, you know, link a battery to it?"

"Tried that many times already," Shiore told him, pointing to the dismantled devices scattered on the table, "nothing seems to be bonding. It is very annoying."

Cole thought for a moment then, suddenly snapped his fingers before pulling out an old MP3 player with a touch screen on it. "What about this?" he asked as he handed it to her.

Shiore quickly swiped it, looking it over before turning to look him in the eye, "You, might be on to something." She grabbed a few cables, connecting the device and the memory together.

She held her thumb over the gaia memory's activation button, hitting it without a delay.

"BITER!" It screamed, sparks going off between the segments of the connecting wires, forcing it out of Shiore's hands and scorching the table.

"OH GOD!" Cole grabbed a magazine and beat out the flames, panting as he examined Shiore. "You alright?"

Shiore trembled only for a second before a devious smirk came onto her face. "Cole… I'm going to need parts," she grabbed her bag, fishing out her wallet and shoving a wad of cash into his hands. "Get me all the scrap devices this will buy you."

"Whao, okay," Cole grinned nervously as he pocketed the money, raising a brow before looking back to her. "By the way.. Where do you get all this money anyway?"

"Connections," she told him simply, jotting out a few notes in one of her books.

Cole thought about this, then shrugged as he went to the door, "Makes sense."

Back at the carnival, Tara guided Carter by the wrist to a shooting game. It was a basic rigged fair game. A stall with a row bbs gun on cables to bind them to the stable, on the far end of the stall stood a stack of glass bottles all looking far too heavy to be knocked over by a simple pellet.

"This one?" Carter pointed to it, raising a brow.

Tara smiled and nodded, "This one."

"Alright," Carter shrugged, looking to the woman running the stand, "how much?"

"Five dollars per clip," the woman told him, holding her hand out to take his money.

"Alright," Carter fished out a pale blue five dollar bill, placing it in the woman's hand as she handed him a cartridge of pellets. With a swift loading and cocking of the gun, he aimed it at the stack of bottles all while holding the pellet gun in a firm and confident manor.

The woman at the stall swooned, "You hold that like you know what you're doing," she batted her eyes a bit, looking to Tara while raising a brow, "Are you two dating?"

Tara's eyes shot open, quickly bursting into a fit of laughter, "Oh GODS no! He's my brother miss. That would just be all kinds of messed up."

"Hmm, I see," the stall woman eyed Carter, grabbing a scrap of paper and a pen before jotting down her name and a string of numbers. She then handed it to Tara while keeping her eyes locked on Carter. "Make sure your brother hits me up sometime, I love a man who knows his way around a firearm."

"If he wins this, you gotta deal miss," Tara saluted her, tucking the scrap away somewhere safe before patting Carter on the back. "Fire away big bro!"

The lady smirked, crossing her arms as she leaned back, "You heard her. Force once, I'm REALLY hoping you win this." There was an almost cat like pur to the way she spoke while eyeing Carter.

Back at Shiore's condo, her GMR scanner went off in a loud ear rattling alarm. Shiore, still at work drawing up schematics quickly swiped it and eyed the group of blinking dots down by the city's waterfront. She groaned, rolling her eyes as she looked at the screen.

"Dumb thing, it's only Tara and Ryu-O," she glanced back at the screen, her eyes widening once she counted three signatures instead of only two.

Before she said a word, Cole burst through the door with two full bags in his hands. "SHIORE!" he called out to her.

"I already know," she began clearing off her work table, heading over to Cole and placing the scanner in his hand before taking the bags from him. "Go to the waterfront, I will meet you there."

"Are you sure?" Cole asked her in a sweat.

Shiore simply nodded, "Buy me as much time as you can."

He gulped sharply, then returned her nod with his own, "I'll do my best." He said before darting down the hall, eyeing the radar screen to orient himself as his heart beat began to run wild.

At the carnival, Carter aimed the pellet gun down at the bottles before gripping down on the trigger ready to fire. Before he could so much as release a single shot however, a blindingly bright violet spike of energy tore through the air beside him, cutting his cheek before striking the stack of bottles he was aiming at before erupting in an earth shattering explosion.

Screams filled the air as the crowd scattered, Carter quickly turning on his heel to see Major in her bear like dopant form approaching him from behind. Tara darted towards the woman who had been crushed under the rubble of the stall.

"Are you alright?!" Tara called out to her in a panic.

The woman winced with a nod, "Yeah, I think.." she winced some more as she attempted to move her leg, "Ow… it hurts…"

Tara gasped, seeing a broken metal pipe had lodged itself deep within the tissue of her thigh. "That.. doesn't look good."

Tara looked around, catching a pair of boys out from the ground. One rather lean and pulling the other, much huskier one by his hand as they both attempted to get away from the chaos.

"You there! Both of you!" Tara called out to them with a point of her finger and a commanding voice, "Help get this lady out of here."

The boys exchanged glances, nodding to each other before swooping in to help. The lean boy lifted the rubble off the ground while the husky one assisted Tara in getting the lady out.

"Easy does it," cooed the one boy, the lady wincing as she struggled to stand. "There we go, you're gonna be alright."

The muscle boy dropped the rubble, Tara smacking him on the back before handing the injured lady over to her. "Great! Now get this woman to a doctor!"

They both nodded and carried her off, Major letting out a fit of laughter as Tara fixed her gaze upon the bear while stepping up to join her brother in a defensive line. The two took a deep stance while Major's snickering continued.

"Isn't this just charming," Major sneered as her grimace widened, "I lose a brother, and you miraculously gain one. Truly if there were a god, he would be laughing at me."

"Yeah, well maybe if he wasn't a total creep, he might still be here!" Tara spat back at her, Kree soaring down and connecting to her wrist to form her driving, looking to Carter as she pulled out her Gale memory. Carter met her gaze, nodding in understanding as his driver formed around his waist, the boy pulling his Ryu-O memory out from his pocket. "No Phoenix?" Tara questioned with a raised brow.

Carter shook his head, "That would be overkill for this one."

They both struck the activation buttons on their respective memories. "GALE! RYU-O!" cried the memories as their respective riders slammed them into their drivers, switching them on with a very quick and blindingly fast motion. "GALE! RYU-O!" Cried the memories once more, both riders dawning their riders forms in a tornado of wind and fire.

With a snap of his finger, Carter pulled his faithful sword Ryu-O Buster out of a burst of fire. Tara, matching his tempo, kicked off the ring from her left ankle, it flying high into the air allowing Tara to catch it by the handle that had extended from the middle in its time in the air. With a flurry of stylish spinning motions, the ring's twin blades swinging out from each end of it to extend fully into Tara's Gale Slicer.

On the outside of the carnival grounds, Cole drove up to the curb on his Dirt Bike style motorbike the Rock Prowler as Alex round up on the X-Cyclone with Ashley on the back. The trio breathed heavily, watching the carnival grounds go up in flames. Cole and Alex looked each other in the eye as the trio hopped off their respective transports.

"Marcoh call you two?" Alex asked cole directly.

Cole shook his head, "Shiore picked up the signal, told me to go on ahead." He eyed Ashley, raising a brow. "Normally I wouldn't say anything, but Major isn't your run of the mill dopant. You might seriously get hurt Ash."

"I know that, but it's my fault she got out in the first place," Ash told him, gripping the strap of her purse, "I'm gonna do my part in anyway I can."

"Not like that you're not." Marcoh called out to her, darting up to her in a hurry with a briefcase gripped tightly in his hand. Moments later, an entire squad of police cars rushed up to the area with their sirens blaring at max volume. Clearly they wanted Major to know they were there.

Alex grinned at the officer, "I was wondering when you were show up."

"Ashley, you still have it, don't you?" Marcoh asked her directly, looking her square in the eye.

Ashley gripped her purse as she gritted her teeth. With a huff, she reached into her bag and pulled out the shift dopant memory, holding it up to the officer. "Yeah, of course I do."

Alex gasped, shocked she would still have that device of all things, "Ashley, you aren't actually thinking of using that are you?!"

Ashley shot a glare at him, "What other choice do we have Alex?! Like Cole said, people could seriously get her with Major running around. We need all we can get."

"And that is exactly why I came to give you this," Marcoh stepped forward, presenting her the briefcase and opening it to reveal Fata's Driver. "Take this, combine it with your dopant memory, and truly be of help. That's the only way I will authorize you to enter the fray."

Ashley gasped, raising her hand over the driver, it trembling in the presence of the pure weight of the driver itself. "I-If I do… what will I become?"

"Only action will be able to tell you that," Marcoh informed her.

Ashley, after a sharp gulp, grabbed the driver and slapped it onto her waist. A pair of belt straps shot out from it and connected at her back, the girl feeling a soothing energy wash over her in the process.

She held her memory high, striking the activation button, "SHIFT!" It cried as Ashley took in a deep breath.

"Hen… SHIN!" She shouted before plunging the memory into the driver upon her waist, flipping it into its active position.

"SHIFT!" Cried the memory as he belt conjured a whirlpool of water around the girl. It swirled around her, a pair of bright yellow eyes illuminating out from the abyss of the rippling waters. The twister parted down the middle of her body and opened into a pair of water based wings that reseated into her back, Ashley standing proudly in deep blue armor with the scales and fins of the deeps most vicious predators. She now gripped a pair of aquatically detailed war glaves within each of her hands.

Alex, Cole and Marcoh took in this new form in awe, Marcoh smirking after a moment. "Welcome to the battle, Kamen Rider Shift."

{End of Part A}

{Start of Part B}

Within the chaos of the scorched fairgrounds, Major grabbed both Tara and Carter by their throats and hurled them into a pair of stalls all while cackling as she charged up her claws with purple energy. Her dopant form licked its lips as she marched towards them in a waltz, Tara and Carter panting as they rose back up to their feet.

"Would now be a good time for Phoenix?" Tara caught her breath, resting on a busted open pipe.

Carter nodded, ripping out his Ryu-O memory and pulling out his Phoenix memory to replace it.

Major cracked her neck, conjuring another violet spike, "Oh! I don't think so!" she howled, hurling the spike directly at Carter's Phoenix memory with the aim of knocking it from his hand.

Before the spike made its mark however, a loud, "KYAA!" ripped through the air, Ashley darting down from the sky with her water based bat wings and slicing the spike clean in half with her war glaves.

Tara's eyes shot open at the sight of the new rider, "Whoa… who the hell are you?!" She barked.

"It's me knucklehead, Ashley," the water rider informed her, motioning her head towards Carter, "Do your thing Flameboy." Carter nodded, slamming his memory into his driver.

"Like the suit," Tara gave her a thumbs up, "makes your ass look juicy."

"Thanks," Ash laughed, shaking her head as she raised her glaves at Major.

Carter gave his driver a good spin. "PHOENIX!" Roared his driver as he donned his upgraded emperor like Phoenix form. He drew his claymore with a burst of fire that emanated from yet another snap of his finger.

"CARTER! TARA!" Alex called out, dashing up to the battle in his Star Runner form from the other side of it, the city's lake to his back. Cole followed soon after, already in his own rider form. "Are you two alright?!"

"Rock solid Superstar! Now that you three are here!" She called to him, shooting him a thumbs up. She and Carter formed a line of defense against Major alongside Ashley.

"Alex, are you sure that's the same dopant from back then?" Cole asked Alex with a whisper.

Alex nodded, "Without a doubt."

Cole gritted his teeth under his mask, "Then let's end her, quickly," He grabbed a portion of his shoulder armor, ripping it off as it become his trusted hammer the Rock Smasher.

The five riders circled around Major, weapons and fists at the ready with all of them aimed at the dopant in the center of their formation. Major's eyes scanned the encircling riders around her, going from Ashley, to Tara and finally Carter, "Five riders there are, but two there were…" her gaze shifted over to Cole, "but the weakest still…" he eyes locked onto Alex, "is you."

He claws fired off five violet spikes at Alex, the Star Runner rider leaping backwards just in time to barely dodge the attack only for Major to lunge forward and swipe at him with her other fully charged claw. Alex blocked the attack with his forearm, wincing from the burning pain of Major's claws as he manage to pull his Star memory from his driver and replace it with Blade and reset his driver.

"BLADE! RUNNER!" Cried his driver as his top half turned green with the appropriate armor and his broadsword, the Bla-Jalibur formed in his right hand. As Major readied her claws, Alex parried with his sword. He gritted his teeth as Major licked her lips.

"Any last words, before I rip you apart?" She snarled.

"Yeah!" Cole shouted, smacking her in the face with his hammer and sending her flying, "Taste pathed earth!"

Tara grabbed a set of chains, chucking them around Major as she flew through the air, constricting around her just as she hit the ground. "BRO! BLAST 'EM!"

Carter nodded, giving the chains a hot blast of fire to weld them to the sewer grates that we just below Major's feet. Major gritted her teeth, shooting back to her feet and thrashing about, the chains already beginning to crack from the strain.

"You!" she roared at Tara, thrashing about violently, "You think this will hold me!" she laughed, charging her claws once again, "You are more stupid than I first thought!"

Ashley eyed a nearby fire hidrant, her gaze looking back to Major. She flexed out her hands at the hydrant and took a deep breath, "Please.. Let this still work the way I think it does." She pulled her fingers in, the hydrant beginning to tremble. She smirked under her mask, calling out to her fellow riders, "TARA! CARTER! MOVE!"

Tara and Carter looked over to Ash, getting the message and darting out of the way. With one swift motion, Ashley broke the hydrant open by pulling all the water that she could managed out from it and dumping it on top of Major and holding it in a sphere like shape around the dopant. Her hands began to tremble, feeling as though she would lose control of the water at any moment.

"Dammit, already this out of practice?" She muttered with a wince, her footing beginning to slip, "Come on, just hold her until she passes out. That's all you need Ash."

Carter and Tara lept back to Alex and Cole, Carter gritted his teeth in with a grunt. "She's either brave or insane." He commented.

"Um.. maybe she's both?" Tara shrugged, looking to Alex as she attempted to catch her breath, "Alex, now would be a great time for you to go Ultimate!"

"I can't, not without all five of us," Alex shook his head, watching Ashley as he began to feel almost helpless.

"WHAT?!" Tara shouted, "That would have been handy to know ages ago."

"I put it together when we fought Cyber. Regardless, we need Shiore here," Alex looked to Cole, "Where is she?"

Cole looked back to him, sweat dropping, "She… told me to go on a head."

Tara stared at him, smacking herself in the face, "Great! We're dead!" On cue, like a beacon of light, Shiore landed down in her Yuki form in front of the riders. Tara let out a sigh of relief, throwing her arms around Shiore, "Thank god!"

Shiore grabbed Tara by her head and shoved her away, her gaze narrowing at Ashley in her new rider form. "Who is that?"

"The bear is Major, the rider is Ashley," Alex told her, looking at his comrade with relief, "I don't care what took you so long, I'm just glad you're finally here."

"You finished it, didn't you?" Cole asked.

Shiore looked at the earth rider, holding up the Biter Memory with a touch screen device grafted onto it. She smirked behind her mask, "What do you think?" She tossed it over to him, "If you think you can handle it, go nuts. I don't think I've ever seen a gaia memory like it."

Cole caught it, looking to Alex, "Well then Al? You ready to go full force?" He smirked under his helmet, extending a hand to him.

"Full force," Alex returned with a smirk of his own, smacking his hand to Cole's before leading into a fist bump. He looked out to Ashley before turning back to Carter, Tara and Shiore, "Lend Ashley a hand, then on my signal you leave her to us. Got it?"

The three riders nodded in agreement, darting over to the bubble of water. Shiore chucked her kunai knives into it to freeze portions of it, Tara taking to her glider and swirling around the body of water to form a tornado to hold it together. Carter meanwhile stood by Ashley's side, sword gripped tightly in his hand.

"You alright?" Carter asked Ashley.

Ashley winced then laughed as she continued to hold the bubble, "Are you kidding? I'm so bored I'm falling asleep."

The two locked their fists down before pulling their fists back and shooting their fingers out in an explosive manor. Alex and Cole stood next to each, Alex switching his Blade memory out for Star once again and resetting his driver.

"Star! Runner!" Cried the driver, followed by a chirp as the Xtreme memory dove down from the sky and connected with his driver. Alex split the slots apart once more, "XTREEME!" shouted the driver as Alex ascended into his Ultimate form.

"Now then, it's my turn," Cole smirked, striking the Biter memory's activation button.

"BITER!" Cried the memory as Cole slammed it into his driver.

Cole flipped the switch on his driver on and off in one quick motion. "BITER!" Screamed the memory in a digitized voice, the letters BTR flashing upon the touch screen. Six icons appeared on the screen in a flurry, a sword, a drill, a gatling gun, a missile pod, a tank tread and finally a big one at the very edge of the screen reading simply MAX. Five gold gears then shot out from the screen, one borrowing itself in Cole's chest as his armor switch from green to gunmetal grey, eight lights swirling around the cog in his chest while flashing red and green before fading to a simple white. The remaining gold cogs became the cuffs for his boots and gauntlets, a drill drill rolling up from the back of his helmet and connecting to his vision to complete his transformation.

Cole trembled, feeling his new power course through his body. "Alex," Cole spoke with a tremor in his voice as he handed his friend his Rock memory, "You know what to do."

Alex took the memory and slammed it into his maximum drive slot. "ROCK! MEMORY CHARGE!" Screamed the memory, the grey middle of his suit turning bright green as armor leg armor formed around his cafs from the X shaped anklets he normally wore. Alex had to breath in deep as a direct result of the newly obtained strength he felt with in him.

"Is this how Cole always feels?" he thought to himself, holding his breath for a moment before sharply exhaling. "Alright!" Alex held his arm up, chopping it downward through the air, "Release her!"

As instructed, Shiore and Tara halted their onslaught of attacks upon Major. Ashley's arms dropped like rocks with Carter scooping her up and dashing off to the side with her so she wouldn't get caught up in the rushing water that quickly flowed over where she had previously stood to control it. The water and ice washed away within moments, the soaked to the bone Major returning to her feet as her snarls grew all the more violent in nature.

"Cole, I think we just made her angrier," Alex whispered to him as the bear crept towards them.

"Then she's more likely to make a mistake," Cole narrowed his gaze at Major, swiping his fingers over the tank tread and sword icon on his driver.

"SWORD BITER! ON! TRAIL BITER! ON!" Cried the Rock driver in the same digitized voice, a pair of swords shooting out from his wrists with tank like treads materializing on his feet.

Alex followed suit, reaching into the green gap that ran down the middle of his sword and pulling X-Caliber, his powerful sword with four maximum drive slots on the guard and a fifth at the end of the handle.

"All the fancy toys in the world can't save you now!" Cackled Major, unleashing a barrage of violet spikes upon Alex and Cole, desomating several deserted stalls from the now emptied fairgrounds.

Cole's heart sank as he saw more stands go up in flames, "Thank god we got everyone out of here first."

"Double that she's a terrible shot," Alex gave Cole a firm pat on the shoulder, "Now, let's rush her!"

"Right!" Cole nodded to him, revving up his Trail Biters and charging towards Major from the right hand side.

Alex quickly caught on, dashing off to the left at a slower speed as a result of his heavier armor but still managing to get behind Major as Cole rushed towards her. Major lashed her teeth at him, Cole readied his blades and cutting right through her fangs as she attempted to bite down on him. This further angered her, growling as sparks began to fly off of her.

"YOU LITTLE WORM!" She gripped her claws, failing to charge them as she no longer cared, "I'LL KILL YOU FOR THAT! YES! JUST HOW YOU KILLED MY BROTHER!"

Alex took the opening to rush in with a hard kick to her back, knocking Major to the ground before leaping off her and landing right beside Cole.

"If you want to kill anyone for the death of your brother, then kill me!" Alex boasted, placing his hand on his chest, "But I'm not going to make it easy for you. Besides, he got what he had coming."

Those simple words from Alex made Major's heart break, the beastly dopant's lower lip tremble as she stepped towards the black and red rider.

"You… what gives you the right to say that?" She bared her teeth, violently unleashing another barrage of claw spikes upon Cole and Alex, "Mikey was pure! He was innocent! He just wanted to hear women sing! They were the ones who turned him away!"

"HE WAS A SLIME RIDDEN CREEP!" Tara shouted from atop one of the stalls, "YOU GOTTA BE BLIND NOT TO SEE THAT!"

Major's gaze turned to Tara's voice, smirking as she licked her lips. "Fresh meet," she cackled, leaping into the air towards the wind rider.

Cole kept his gaze locked on Major, casting aside his swords before hitting the missile and gatling gun buttons on his driver. "MISSILE BITER! GATLING BITTER!" Sang the driver, a large gatling gun forming over his right arm while a panel opened up on each of his shoulders to revealed hail fire missiles stored within them.

Darting after Major on his tank treads, Cole opened fire with everything in his arsenal which packed enough of a punch to hurl Major to the ground. She was down, but not out. With gritted teeth, she forced herself as sparks continued to fly off of her body.

As he watched her from above, Carter's eyes shot open. "She's shattering." He stated as he noticed Major was beginning to grow in size, her anatomy changing to become far more animalistic.

Tara looked to Carter with a raised brow, "Shattering, what? What does that mean?" She demanded in a panic, figuring things were only getting worse.

"You were present during the Reptilian incident, right?" Carter told her, "Once a person is broken so thoroughly by a gaia memory's influence, there is no going back. META calls it the shattered state."

"Isn't there anyway we can stop it?" Ashley asked, Tara gawking at her sudden change of heart.

"Yes, but we need to act fast," Carter informed them, "six maximum drives should do it."

"I'll tell Alex and Cole!" Ashley leapt from the stall roof, soaring over the scorched battle field before landing in front of Alex and Cole with heavy breath. "Carter wants us to unload a maximum drive each into her at once, or she'll die."

"Die?!" Alex questioned, "How?! Why?!"

"Are you blind!" Ashley pointed to Major as she continued to change, growing in size as her bones realigned, "Or do you want what happened to Sarah to happen to her? Regardless of how we feel about her, NO ONE deserves to be ripped apart like that!"

With a trembling lip and racing heart, Alex's gaze repeatedly shifted between Major and Ashley as he felt his time for choice beginning to rapidly slip away. He sharply swallowed, then nodded.

"Alright… Alright I'll do it!" Alex shouted as he closed his Xtreme memory. "CARTER!" he yelled up to the other three riders, "IF I REGRET THIS! I'M BLAMING IT ON YOU!"

Shiore glared at Carter, agreeing with Alex's sentiment.

"Only fair," Carter nodded with a sigh before looking over to Shiore, "Yuki, you should switch forms. More power increases this actually working." Shiore pulled the Shira memory from her side, looking at it with the sheer sight of it sending a repeating pulsing sensation up her right arm. "Yuki! Use it!" He barked once more at her.

Shiore gritted her teeth, resetting her driver after a moment. She quickly pulled her Yuki memory from its slot before slamming the Shira memory in its place, switching the driver back into its active position.

"SHIRA! SHIRA!" Cried the memory as the air ran cold, a blizzard rushing over Shira and making her samurai armor far more jagged and primal, the once crescent moon now about half full. "SHIRA!"

Shiore stared at the half moon on her chest, taking in a deep breath before exhaling and drawing her twin katanas connected by a chain lined with kunai knives.

"Alright, let's do this quickly," Carter commanded, he Tara and Shiore leaping off the stall roof and onto the ground, switching their memories to their respective maximum drive positions.

"GALE! MAXIMUM DRIVE! PHOENIX! MAXIMUM DRIVE! SHIRA! MAXIMUM DRIVE!" Cried their memories as the trio's weapons began to charge.

"That's our que boys," Ashley instructed, ripping her memory from her driver and slipping into a slot on one of her glave's, both of them beginning to become engulfed in rushing water. Cole meanwhile pressed the MAX button on his touch screen, flipping the switch of his driver over once again while Alex simply split his Xtreme memory back open into its active position.

"SHIFT! MAXIMUM DRIVE! ROCK! MAXIMUM DRIVE! XTREME! MAXIMUM DRIVE! BITER! MAXIMUM DRIVE! Roared the four memories divided between the three riders.

"NOW!" Alex commanded, all the riders charging in at once. As Cole charged, he fired off his missile pods and gatling gun as a drill materialized over his left hand. The male rider gasped in awe for a moment before smirking as the six riders rushed in together and struck Major together at once.

A bright light in Major's colors enveloped the sight, Marcoh standing on the outside of the chaos and letting out a sigh of relief.

"They actually managed to pull off, damn kids," he said with a grin.

"Of course they did, they're a lot stronger than you give them credit for you know," Sampson told him as he came up to him, "Sure, others might doubt them, but I have faith they'll finish what they start. No matter how long it takes them, or how difficult it might be."

Marcoh looked at him with a smirk, "So, guess that puts us on cleaning duty again? As officers of the law, I'm beginning to feel we don't do very much."

Sampson laughed a little, patting his second in command on the shoulder, "I know, I've been feeling that way too." He looked over his shoulder to the other officers before pointing to the desomated fairgrounds. "Move in! We have a fugitive to detain!"

Back in the fairgrounds, Zix lay lifelessly on the ground. He face in the rubble as the riders approached her, reverting to their civilian forms. Tara grabbed a stray bar poked her with it, but Zix didn't move.

"Is she…" the wind rider gulped, "dead?"

Carter came up, checking her neck for a pulse. After a moment, he breathed a sigh of relief, "She still has a heartbeat, just knocked out by the looks of things." Carter then spotted Zix's Major Memory, or rather that fragments that remained of it.

Everyone breathed easy, relieved that it was over without anyone dying. That was until one of Zix's eyes opened, she shooting a glare directly at Carter. She pulled a knife from her sleeve, swatting at him only for Carter to quickly disarm her by swiping the knife from her with one hand and pinning her down to the ground with the other.

"Easy there Damon," Marcoh advised, he and Sampson coming in with a squad of officers, all having their guns aimed at Zix, "we will take it from here."

Carter got off Zix as she was cuffed, tears running down her scowling face while she was made to walk and escorted away.

"So, what happens now?" Alex asked Sampson.

"Don't worry about a thing son, she's going away, for good this time," Sampson thought about, "but considering her mental state, we will be looking into getting her the help she needs. Whether she takes it or not, well that's her call to make."

"I see.." Alex thought about what was said then nodded, "Yeah, I'm okay with that."

"Oh man! Just like her to wreck a family outing!" Tara groaned as she slumped into her brother, looking up to him with a pout, "We're gonna do something else though right? Make up for the game we missed?"

"Of course," Carter nodded, his eyes widening after a moment before looking over to Marcoh, "That reminds me, there was a bystander who got seriously hurt, a woman with a metal pole borrowed into her leg. Is she alright?"

Marcoh looked to him and nodded, "She was one of the first to be loaded onto an ambulance, saw to it myself. She spoke very highly of the man who stood in her defence, and the brave girl who helped get her out of the wreckage."

Carter blushed, looking away as he muttered, "It was nothing, I only did what anyone else would have."

"Aw! Is my big brother camera shy?" Tara cooed, poking him on the nose, "You gonna get all flustered when someone calls you a hero?"

"It isn't like that at all," Carter told her as Shiore began to leave only to meet his gaze simply by poor timing. "Hey.. sorry for barking at you back there. I was under the wire."

Shiore gripped her right arm, glaring at him before dodging his gaze, "There's nothing that can be done about it now. Besides, I don't need an apology from you."

Carter looked at her, raising brow, "Are you sure?"

She simply nodded, "Have a goodnight, Ryu-O."

She made her way off, Cole, Alex and Ashley clustering around her as they assumed Tara and Carter wished to return to their outing.

"Hey Shiore! Your work is better than I was expecting!" Cole complimented her, "How'd you manage to pull it off in so little time?"

Their conversation faded into the distance as they walked away, Carter left staring at them and Tara at him.

"Bro.. is there something the matter?" Tara asked him in a softer tone, clearly concerned. "You and Shuri aren't fighting again, are you?"

"No, everything is… fine," he told her simply, "Don't worry about it, okay?"

Far on the outskirts of the city, an operatic melody played from within the confines of a well lit manor at the top of an isolated mountain. The hands of Larc Pearlman danced over the keys of a grand piano from the venue of an expansive and elegantly decorated bedroom with a large window that made up the entire back wall to allow the light of the moon to mix seamlessly with the burning embers from mood enhancing candles, all while the sole member of the audience sat on a queen size canopy bed in a pink silk nightgown.

The red haired Madison Tyler, watched the performance with a smile on her face while snacking away on a bowl of popcorn until it's beautiful and perfect conclusion. Madison bowed and applauded resulting in Larc rising to his feet and bowing to the woman before him.

"Is there any instrument you can't play?" she asked as she flopped onto her back while smiling warmly at him.

"Let's see, violin, guitar, piano…" he counted on his fingers, "If it is bound by a string I can play it."

She blushed a little bit as she held up a pair of strings that made up a bow on her nightgown, "What about these strings?" she couldn't help but giggle at how cheesy she was being, her face turning even redder out of embarrassment.

Larc laughed, kicking his shoes off as he climbed onto the bed and eventually onto of her, "Now those ones, I have yet to master." He cooed to her, kissing her neck as he ran his hand along her side.

Madison snorted and let out a laugh from the sudden contact. She gasped, covering her mouth as she turned her head to meet his gaze. She removed her head, sinking into the bed some more as her face turned an even bright shade of red. "I-I am so sorry."

"Don't be, I think it's cute," he laughed, a knock coming to the door. He let out a huff, snapping his fingers, "Come in."

The door opened, an old butler poking his head in, "Excuse me sir, but you have a visitor."

"At this hour?" he groaned, hoping off the bed, "What does he want?"

"Sorry sir but he didn't say, only that it was urgent," the butler told him. "I told him that he could wait for you in your study."

Larc held his face, letting out a sigh, "Alright, I'll see what he wants." He regained his smile and looked to Madison, "Besides, the faster I get done with him the faster I can return to you." He blew a kiss to her.

"Don't be long," she told him, hiding her face a bit with the covers.

"No need to worry, I won't," he turned to his butler and snapped his fingers. "Come with me," he left the room, his smile dropping the moment he and his butler had left Madison's sight. With angered eyes, he marched down the hall until he came to a door at the very end of it, swinging it open as he saw Joel Revant sitting in a chair and reading a book.

Joel glanced up, closing the book he was reading, "Ah, so there you are." He stood up, sliding the book back into its place on the shelf. "Such an interesting collection. History of music, sheets from composures," he moved his hands down the shelf before pulling a book of the shelf with Madison's name on it. "The day to day lives of young girls with red hair?" He raised a brow at him. "You certainly have an oddly specific taste."

"Who the hell are you?" Larc demanded, shutting the door behind him. "Tell me before I have you escorted out."

"I hope, that you simply take this as an introduction," Joel slapped his driver onto his waist and pulled out a golden gaia memory.

"INERTIA!" cried the memory, Joel connecting it to his driver as he was transformed into the pale white armored skeletal demon of his dopant form. Larc's eyes shot open in shock, his whole being beginning to tremble as he took a step back. He smirked, managing a laugh.

"I see…" he bowed a bit, "to what do I owe, the presence of one of META's elite?"

"You?" Joel raised a brow, laughing a little. "Nothing, I came with a warning. The riders are growing, in both number and strength. That girl you have there, will only quicken your demise."

"Madison?" Larc laughed, "What is she gonna do?"

"On her own? Nothing," Inertia informed him, "but should the six riders be alerted to her presence here, they will surely come. And they will not like seeing you."

"You came to tell me that?" Larc laughed, "Why?"

Inertia did not answer his question, simply extending his hand as a pink memory with marked with an M in the shape of a heart formed in his hand. He stepped forward, placing it in Larc's hand. "When the time comes, use on that girl and you might survive."

Larc's jaw trembled as he took the memory, looking it over as he read the label more closely. "Madison?" he questioned, seeing his object of effection's name in fine print. "What the hell is this?" he barked, looking back to where Inertia stood only to find that he had vanished. He jumped, gripping the memory tight in his hand.

"Sir?" the butler came into the room, "Are you alright?"

Larc nodded before turning to the butler, "Madison is not to leave this house, and no one is allowed to enter it. Is that clear?"

"Yes sir," the butler bowed as he turned into a demonic looking soldier with drums grafted onto both of his shoulders, "as you command."

{Insert Ending Theme: "One" by Altima}

**Next Time on Kamen Rider Ultimate Xtreme**

The police receive an anonymous tip that Madison Tyler is being held captive by an unknown Dopant. The riders race against the clock to save her as Larc Pearlman, the Melody Dopant unleashes his army upon them that use music and sound as a lethal weapon.

Can Alex get to his former love in time?

All will be decided when Kamen Rider Ultimate Xtreme continues in

**Episode 10: I Remember You**


	3. Episode 36: I Remember You

**Episode 36: I Remember You**

Early the next morning, Alex stood in Sampson's office with his shaking eyes fixed upon a computer screen. It displayed an image of the front entry way of Larc's manor, Madison being escorted in by none other than Larc himself. Cole, Tara, and Ashley only a few feet behind him.

"W-When did you say you got this photo was taken?" Alex questioned with a tremor to his voice.

"We received it early this morning, but we aren't sure of how old the image itself actually is," Sampson informed him, bringing up a map of the mountains just outside the city with a point atop a cliff circled in red. "We were however able to determine the location is was most likely shot at. It's odd though, didn't know they build manors like that in the mountains of all places."

"Well, why don't you just rush in and grab her then if you think she's in danger?" Alex asked, gritting his teeth at Sampson.

"In just a moment or two, you will have you answer," Sampson told him, keeping a firm grasp on his radio, "until then however just think. What would Madison do if she were in your position?"

Alex balled his hand into a fist in frustration, only to release with a sigh of defeat, "She would wait until she had all the details, and guarantee my safety."

Sampson nodded, "My thoughts exactly."

An electric buzz echoed over the radio followed by Shiore's voice, "Chief, are you there?"

"I hear you Fubuki," Sampson spoke into the radio, "what do we got?"

"It's just as you said, my scanners are picking up high amounts of GMR readings," Shiore told him, Alex letting out a gasp as his shaking grew more violent, "There is a dopant inside that manor, no doubt about it."

"And Ms Tyler?" Sampson asked, his own hand beginning to visibly tremble at the utterance of Madison's name, "is she alright?"

"I see her, she is fine," Shiore told him. "I've been watching them for a while, he seems rather fond of her. I doubt the target will do anything to harm her."

"You've seen the target?" Sampson looked to Marcoh who pulled out a pencil and sketch pad. "Can you describe him?"

"Straight black hair, goes down to his shoulders but her usually ties it back," she began as Marcoh sketched what she was saying, "square framed glasses. Pale complexion, tall in stature and on the slim side. Incredibly vibrant blue eyes, that's what I noticed first."

"Alright, we got it, thank you Fubuki," Sampson nodded, "Have Damon and yourself fallback for not, keep yourselves hidden until Marcoh and I arrive with Desmond, Archer and Haze."

Shiore fell silent for a moment then spoke up, "Roger." The radio cut. Sampson held his face, clearly distraught over all this.

"Sampson.." Alex spoke up, gripping his fists together with an intense look in his eye, "what do you want me to do?"

"Sorry Alex, but you're staying here," Sampson told him, "that's final."

"WHAT?!" Alex shouted, shooting up from his seat, "You can't actually expect me to just sit here while Madison is in danger, can you?!"

"I said that its FINAL Alex!" Sampson barked at him, "I care about Madison, and you, but I will not lose anyone the same way I lost your mother."

"What makes you think that will happen again?" Alex protested, "I will not be going in alone, so what's the problem?"

"The problem is that your rushing in, just like Sampson did that night, with the exact same motivation," Marcoh stepped in, giving his superior a raised look, "Isn't that right, Chief?"

This simple statement was enough to completely silence Sampson, as it did with Alex. The two stood staring at one another until Cole came up and broke their gaze.

"Gordon, with all due respect the six of us are a team," Cole put simply, "if even one of us is removed, the rest suffer. I hope you see that Alex is no exception to this."

"Boy's got a point chief," Ashley chimed in.

"DAMN RIGHT HE DOES!" Tara followed, pumping her fist in the air.

Sampson looked to Alex who in turn stared back at him, "And should Alex get out of line?" he asked simply.

"If that happens, I'll knock him out myself," Cole told the officer, "I swear to that much at least."

Sampson raised a brow at Alex, "Is that okay with you Alex?"

"If it's to save Madison," the boy spoke simply, "I'll do whatever it takes."

{Insert Opening Theme: "Alones" by Aqua Timez}

Within the shroud of Vainglory's lair lined will pillars that lead up to the black armored dopant's throne, Alex's father Jason stood before off to one side, in his humanoid form looking up at a mural carved into the wall itself. The meral depicted the earth, engulfed in flame as it hung between the sun and moon.

Rylee knelt behind him as Jason glared at the meral. "Spite… where is Inertia?"

"I… I do not know sire," Rylee informed him, "i have not seen him in some time. I'm sorry."

"Do not apologize to me," he glared at her, "just find him."

"No need to trouble yourself, looking for me," Joel spoke suddenly, appearing over top of Jason's throne. "I was merely out for a bit of air. Heaven only needs we it in this place."

Jason turned to him, maintaining his glare, "Inertia, do you recall what became of Fury when I suspected him of treason?"

"How could I not?" Joel returned a glare of his own, "You unleashed your dog on him, and he was burned alive. Then, once that dog stopped being useful, you cut him loose."

Rylee gritted her teeth, balling her hand into a fist as she glared at Joel. Jason's face remained unchanged, "Then you know what will happen should I learn you are guilty of the same actions, Inertia."

"Worry not, Vainglory," Inertia cocked a smirk of his own, "I am not so foolish as to be caught in such a manor."

"I should hope not for your sake," he looked back to the mural on the wall, "The day we have waited for will soon be upon us, and I will not stand anyone getting in the way of my perfect world."

Inside the walls of Larc's hilltop manor, Madison had gotten dressed for the day and was brushing her hair in the bedroom she had listened to her lover play the night before. She stared into the mirror with a smile as Larc came in suddenly from a door to her back.

"Oh, you're here," she looked to him, grabbing her bag as she stood up, "I'm guessing you're ready to go?" She blushed, "I… I've been dying to hear you in concert since your preview last night."

Larc's face was stern, more so then it had been last night and his energy had grown completely cold, "There's been a change of plans, sorry." He went over to the large window and began to close the curtains.

"What?!" Madison questioned with a gasp of surprise, "Why? Did something happen?"

"No, at least not yet," He came up to her, cupping her cheek before kissing her forehead. "A wanted fugitive was spotted in the woods not far from here.

Madison gasped once again, beginning to shake a bit, "Oh my gosh, they haven't hurt anyone have they?!"

"Oh no, at least not that they know of," he told her, shaking his head. "The police are investigating but for your safety I need you to stay here in this room, do you understand?"

Madison felt her heart sink but eventually gulped and managed a nod. "Okay."

"Good," Larc gave her another kiss, this one on the lips. "Now then, I'll be back in a few moments. As I said, no matter what you are not to leave this room. Got it?"

Madison gasped, stepping forward as Larc went back to the door, "Wait, where are you going?!"

"The police and I are still conversing downstairs, and I figured you wouldn't want to deal with them on a day like this," Larc told her with a grin, "you know how up tight they can be, right?"

Madison managed a grin then sat on the bed, "Just… don't keep me waiting too long okay? You know how up tight I can be."

Larc chuckled at this, "That I do," he blew her a kiss, "I'll be back."

She playfully caught the kiss with her hand and placed it to her lips, giving it a kiss of her own. "Hurry back."

Larc went out the door, closing it behind him before locking it from the outside. His gaze turned to a harsh glare as he marched down the hallway, his drum shouldered butler emerging from the wall behind him as he walked.

"What are we dealing with?" Larc demanded with a ugrent tone.

"Two were spotted in the woods, scouts by the looks of things," the butler told him, "we believe they are calling for reinforcements."

"Then Xtreme will most likely be among them," Larc gritted his teeth, stopping once he arrived at a pair of large doors and turning on his heel to look his butler in the eye, "No matter what, they are not allowed to enter the building, and Xtreme must not be able to come into contact with Ms Tyler. Do you understand me?"

The butler nodded, "Yes sir, as you command." He bowed, looking up to his master, "But sir.. what if Ms Tyler attempts to run?"

Larc fell silent, balling his hand up as he took in a deep gulp. He reached into his pocket and fished out the pink memory with Madison's name on it, holding it out to his demonic butler, "Inertia said to use this on her should circumstance become dier," he looked his servant in the eye, "Follow his instructions."

The butler took the memory and nodded once more, "Yes sir, I will sir." With that, he phased back into the wall and vanished from sight, leaving Larc alone in the darkened hallway.

Larc looked back to the doors, pushing them open to reveal a large room with no windows and only a large organ with pipes running up to the cieiing to furnish it. He glared at the organ, pulling a gun metal gret gaia memory from his pocket marked with an M in the shape of a musical note.

"I cannot believe I am being forced to use this here of all places," he groaned, striking the activation button of his memory.

"MELODY!" cried the memory as he touched it to the connector on his wrist, the memory transforming him into a demonic conductor covered in musical notes, strings and piano keys.

He approached the organ and sat down on a bench in front of it. He took one of his hands and ran his hand along the length of the instrument before him, his fingers dancing along the dusty keys as he did so before coming to one in particular and resting his finger upon it.

"Oh well," he spoke simply, "the show must go on I suppose."

He pressed down the key, holding it down as its sad song echoed throughout the manor and down into a room below the manor filled with an assortment of instruments from drums to guitars and even flutes. As they heard the call of their master, a single beady eye opened up on all of them. The storage room quickly filled with a symphony of beastly cries, eager to please the one who commanded them from their slumber.

At the far end of the mountain, Alex and Cole rolled up to the edge of the woods on the X-Cyclone and Rock-Prowler respectively with Tara on the back of the Rock-Prowler holding onto Cole. A pair of squad cars rolled up behind them, Marcoh and Ashley hoping out the front of one and Sampson the other.

Ashley let out a yawn as she stretched herself out, "God, I hate car rides."

Alex looked over to Ashley, "You could've ridden with me you know."

Ashley smirked, looking to him with a laugh as she eyed his motorcycle. "You expect my fat ass to fit on that tiny thing?"

Alex rolled his eyes with a laugh of his own, "You're just in a mood to complain aren't you."

"Good you're learning," Ashley grinned at him as Shiore and Carter touched down, both in rider form with two Yuki clones made of ice behind them. "and just in time too."

Sampson approached Carter and Shiore, looking the two riders in the eye, "Whats the status on the target? Any movement yet?"

Carter shook his head, "All seems quiet."

"That's either the best intel I've ever received or the worst," Sampson said with a bit of a sigh.

"Whichever it is sir, we don't exactly have the time to find out which," Marcoh chimed in, looking all the riders in the eye. "Regardless, you are all to treat this as a honest situation. Go in quiet, do not reveal yourselves unless absolutely necessary. Understood?"

All six riders nodded at once, Shiore and her clones leaping back into the treeline as Carter took a single glance towards Tara before following shortly after his pale blue and white ice comrade.

Alex, Cole and Ashley's driver's materialized around their waists with Kree shooting down from the tree line before connecting to Tara's wrist with all four of them pulling out their respective gaia memories.

Sampson pointed a finger at Alex, "Nothing reckless, you hear? Think what-

"What Madison would do, I know," Alex looked to him with an understanding nod, "You have my word."

"GALE! ROCK! SHIFT! STAR! RUNNER!" Cried the memories as their respective riders struck their activation buttons, the riders quickly slamming them into place and switching their devices to their active positions.

"GALE! ROCK! SHIFT! STAR! RUNNER!" Cried the memories once more as the four youths took one their rider forms, darting into the woods towards their allies after a single exchanged glance towards one another.

Once the rider had left, Marcoh turned his gaze towards Sampson, "What happened to your faith in them sir?"

"It's still there Marcoh," Sampson let out a heavy sigh, holding head, "it's only him I worry about."

"It's been thirteen years sir," Marcoh told him, "I don't think Alice would've wanted you to grieve for her this long, regardless of whatever went on between the two of you. It's time you let go."

"I know.. I know…" Sampson nodded, managing a somehow sad looking grin, "Guess it's my price for pursuing a married woman, isn't it?"

"Is that so?" Marcoh scoffed and shook his head, "Then what was her's for returning said advances, I wonder?"

Alex darted through the woods, coming to a halt once he came to the edge of the forest beside the other riders. Just beyond the edge of the forest stood the manor that was their target in the center of the clearing. Cole looked to him, raising a finger over his mouth before pointing towards the manor.

Alex narrowed his gaze upon the manor, catching the sight of what appeared to be a flute rolling down from the front door and out the gate that separated the manor from the rest of the woods. It rolled right under the gate and stopped just in front of where the riders hid in the bushes, proceeding to sit itself up with its front facing them.

The riders stood puzzled as from the flute spurted an oily black fluid, connecting to the flute itself before forming what could only be described as spindly arms and legs. Yet another bit of oil oozed out from the top, this one remaining spherical in nature as a single bloodshot eye crept out from the depths of the black ball of goo.

Staring at the riders, it slowly but steadily raised its one hand towards them before letting out an indescribable horrid noise which gave off the impression of a hiss and a howl overlaid with a medley of nails being run down a chalkboard. The riders held their ears as more black goo soldiers emerged from the bushes below them and the trees above them. The ones that struck from above where based on guitars while the ones from below were made from drums.

Carter gritted his teeth, blasting a few of them with his palm mounted fire blasters, grabbing Tara and hoisting her over to the clearing. Shiore's two clones were struck by a pair of drum soldiers, shattering upon contact but allowing the ice rider to slice a few away from her and leap over to Carter and Tara's side. Alex, Cole and Ashley followed suit, Ashley carving up a few of the soldiers herself with her warglaives before joining the others in the clearing.

"So much for the element of surprise," Carter grunted as the entire treeline became engulf with the oose soldiers.

"Was thinking the exact same thing," Tara threw in.

Cole gripped his hammer, "Now what do we do?"

"Cut down any in our path, and get to Madison as quickly as we can," Alex told them all, closing his driver as the Xtreme memory descended from above and latched onto his belt. He spit it open once again, switching it back to its active position.

"XTREME!" His driver cried out as he went right to his Ultimate form.

Carter and Cole took his no vocal advise, pulling out their own memories and switching them out for Biter and Phoenix. "PHOENIX! BITER!" Their drivers called out as the two riders donned their own upgraded forms.

Shift's water wings flexed out from her back, smirking under her mask, "I like the way you think Superstar."

"Hey! That's my line!" Tara shouted to her with her fist pumped.

"Hey, Tara. We have a job to do," Alex reminded her, drawing X-Calibur from his chest as the instrument based goo soldiers began to approach them. "Do not leave a single one moving," Alex told them as he and the other five riders got ready to advance. "Ready…" they all dove forward, heading into battle, "GO!"

{End of Part A}

{Start of Part B}

Back in the bedroom, Madison lay sprawled across the bed flipping through a tablet as she did what she could to kill time. She kicked her legs back and forth in a rythem while letting out a sigh.

"A million plus shows and nothing to watch…" she said in a state of boredom, "I mean, they do have the extended finale of Super Megsforce… but I could also drive a rusty nail into my brain and have it be just as pleasant."

Her tangent was cut short by a sudden creek above her, Madison looking up to the ceiling with a raised brow. Her attention was not held there for very long however as a loud barrage of gunfire echoed from the closed curtains followed by the ringing of heavy slashes.

"What the heck?" She questioned as she got up from the bed and crept over to the window, peeking out the closed curtains. Her eyes widened in awe when she took in the scene of Alex and the other riders, fully armored up and fighting off Melody's blob like foot soldiers. "Oh wow.." he eyes glimmered as an eager grin came onto her face, raising up her fists. "That is so COOL!"

She thought back for a moment, recalling what Larc had told her. "Do not leave this room for anything, understood?"

"Oh Larc, you didn't have to set this up for me in secret," she blushed as her heart began to race, "I would have been your damsel if you had just shown me the script or something."

As she became lost in her daydreams, Tara hacked off a blade from one of the flute based blob soldiers and kicked in a random direction. That random direction just so happened to be at the window Madison was behind. As it hurled through the air, it struck the window causing Madison to jump back.

He heart skipped a beat as she managed a laugh, "Oh my… looks like a stunt actor missed their mark?" Her lipped trembled as her body began to shake as she stared at the now fracture window. "Easy mistake... even pros miss their mark now and again?"

The banging from above echoed once again, sounding far more like clawing as an entire swarm of blob soldiers scurried down the window like a spiders. One stopped as it spotted Madison, staring her right in the eye with its own blood shot beady one.

She tripped, falling to the ground as her entire being began to shake. "No way… this isn't happening. Monsters and stuff, it's all just pretend, right?... Right?!" In her panic, her eyes darted around the room before landing on the door. "Larc!" She clawed herself up and ran towards it. "He'll know what to do!" She grabbed the door and tried to pull it open only to find she couldn't, "Locked?" She banged onto to the door as loud as she possibly could, "LARC! WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU! WH-"

She gasped, the door suddenly opening as Melody's drum based commander stepped in looking her in the eye. "What seems to be the problem Ms Tyler?"

"W-What the hell are you?" She demanded as she stepped back and away from him, "What did you do to Larc?!"

The butler paused, looking at his hands, "Oh… do forgive me." He stepped forward and shifted back into his humanoid form right in front of Madison, "is this better?"

Madison, in her terrified state, threw a punch right at the butler's face before screaming at him. "MOVE!" she demanded, "LET ME OUT OF HERE!"

"Sorry, but Master Larc told me not to," He told her as he pulled out the pink gaia memory, "as he told me to use this on you, should you prove… difficult." He grabbed her.

"No way!" She kicked him, pulling away from him, "You're not turning me into one of those- those things!"

"Shhh," he grabbed her and pulled her close, pressing the gaia memory to the back of her neck. "It will easier if you do not struggle."

He struck the activation button, "MADISON!"

Back on the ground, Tara was knocked back by a thick soldier built around a stand up string base. It wailed at her while she gritted her teeth, the blob soldier raising its arm for an attack while Tara gripped her slicer.

"Just drop dead already!" She screamed in frustration as she stabbed the soldier in its beady eye with all her might.

The soldier froze, getting forced back as it held its eye. It began to shake before letting out a defeaning scream and bursting to bits, leaving only the ink stained bass on the ground once it had been destroyed.

Tara's eyes widened with shock for a moment, only for her to smirk a second later. "Hey!" She shot up to her feet, stabbing a pair of soldiers in their eyes with both ends of her slicer at the same time, the soldiers bursting just like the previous one had. "I've found these things weekpoint! Strike their eyes and they'll go down like that!" She cheered with a snap.

"And how exactly do you know that?!" Ashley called out as she fought off a few soldiers of her own.

Tara flipped over to Ashley, striking the five soldiers that opposed the water rider. Tara smirked at Ashley and motioned over her shoulder to the sludge on the ground, "That's how."

Ashley stared dumbfoundedly for a moment before putting the newly acquired knowledge to use and stabbing every soldier she could in the center of their eye, the other riders quickly catching on and following her and Tara's example. Cole discarded his drill and gatling gun, drawing his wrist mounted laser swords to better handle the various foes.

As the riders cut down the blob like soldiers, more seemed to take their place from the ground below at the roof of the manor above.

"Uh guys!" Alex panted between strikes of his sword and pops of attacking soldiers. "I don't think we're getting very far!"

Shiore summoned a second pair of clones, her doubles covering her back as she checked her hand held scanner. "These soldiers are all giving off the same energy signature." She aimed it at the manor, the reading only growing stronger.

"So these things are just extensions of the same dopant?" Carter asked for clarification, slashing at the soldiers that darted up from behind Shiore to attack her.

Shiore didn't look at Carter and simply nodded, "If we take out the source, the others should fall."

"Then you guys have some leg work ahead of you," Cole said with a smirk, handing Alex his Rock memory while cutting down more soldiers, "Carter and I will keep these blobs off your back. So get going."

Alex looked to Cole, "Are you sure?"

Cole simply nodded, "Yeah, now getting going. She needs you, remember?"

Alex nodded then went to dart towards the manor. "Xtreme!" Carter shouted, stopping the rider dead in his tracks to look back. "Here! You need this far more than I do!"

Carter chucked his Ryu-O memory over to Alex, the boy catching with a smirk and a nod before continuing on towards the manor with Shiore, Tara and Ashley close behind him.

Carter and Cole stood back to back as the soldiers swarmed around them. "Well, looks like its you and me Carter."

Carter managed a smirk, Cole's laid back attitude beginning to rub off on him, "Just try to keep up."

"Alright, guess we'll reset the board then," Cole struck a soldier in the eye with his blade, followed by another with both bursting to bits. "Two zero."

Alex, Tara, Shiore and Ashley fought their way towards the manor, Alex gripping the Ryu-O memory in his hand before holding out.

"I've got this," he declared, slipping the memory into his maximum drive slot.

"RYU-O! MEMORY CHARGE!" Screamed his driver, the middle of his suit flaring up red along with his hands before fading to brilliant silver.

Alex raised his hand to the door, blasting it to bits with a single charged shot from the now active fire blasters in the palm of his left hand. Ashley let out a whistle as the four made their way inside, the haunting choir of an organ filling the air around them as it escape the shroud of the dimly lit vestibule they now found themselves in.

The echo of a single slow clap filled the air as Larc's demonic drum based butler descended from a tall flight of stairs. "Impressive… very impressive." He spoke, staring them down as he reached the bottom of the stairs, "However, this is as far as you four shall go."

Alex gritted his teeth, aiming his sword at the butler, "WHERE IS MADISON!"

The butler glared at him, "Ms Tyler wishes to not be disturbed at present. Leave this place at once," a pair of hands sprouted from his back and began to bang on the drums on his shoulder in a menacing manner, "or die."

"I'm not leaving without Madison," Alex's gaze narrowed, "that's final."

"I see," his playing intensified as the entire manor began to shift and tremble, a line of four medieval style cannons rising up from the floor beneath him, "then you will die."

A red eye opened up on the top of each cannon, each locking on to one of the four riders before firing a piping hot ball of iron followed by an echo of ear shattering sound. The four riders dodged in a different direction, their formation breaking apart in the process. The cannons didn't relent, keeping up their relentless barrage.

Alex panted, looking at the Rock memory in his hand and gritting his teeth. "Damn it, this fight would be over if I could use more than one memory charge…" his eyes turned to the X-Calibur, taking note of the four memory slots that made up the guard in an x formation, "at a time."

He quickly slammed the rock memory into his sword, pulling the Ryu-O memory out of its place and putting into the sword's guard as well. The memories let out a clashing wine that merged into a harmonious chime within moment, Alex pulling back on a red trigger in on his swords hilt.

"ROCK! RYU-O! DOUBLE MEMORY CHARGE!" Alex wince slighted as he absorbed the combined power, his suit taking on the aspects of both Rock's boosted armor and Ryu-O's added fire power, the X-Calibur becoming engulfed in a spiraling flame.

"Alright!" He cheered, stopping dead in his tracks to block the next iron ball that hurled towards him in a screeching wave of sound. He caught in a parry, gaining enough strength from Rock to send it hurling back at the cannon that fired it with a strong swing of his sword. The shot struck the cannon's eye, causing it to burst.

The girls didn't waste any time with their own targets either, Tara and Shiore dodging several shots before being able to lunge at their respective cannons and burst them open with a good strike to the eye from their blades.

Ash meanwhile took a more ferocious approach. Pulling a stream of water from the manor's pipes, she formed a powerful vortex and funneled each shot into it before firing it right back. Gripping her glaives, she flexed out her water wings and darted towards the now sparking cannon, it bursting to bits after a heavy blow.

Once the cannons were dealt with, the butler let out a slow but haunting bit of applause. "You have defended yourself from my cannons, well done. However," he snapped his finger, the torn bits of metal beginning to shake as a result, "torn instruments can always be repurposed."

His blobby body began to shift, the torn apart cannons rushing through the air and connecting to the butler. He began to grow in size, stopping only after his head just about reached the ceiling, a cannon forming on each of his knees and hands.

"It is curtains for you," he growled at them as , "no encores."

Alex and Ashley both gasped, Alex freezing in place from the sudden attack as the no colossal demon butler fired a barrage of countless balls of burning iron at him. Ashley didn't waste any time however, the water rider saw an opening and she took it.

Rushing towards Alex, she pulled a thin layer of water to shield herself and Alex from the butler's barrage. One shot got through however and struck Ashley's caff, but not before she was able to shove Alex out of the way of the blast with the shock of it all being enough to throw both of them into the rail of the staircase at the back of the vestibule.

"Ashley!" Alex gasped as he recovered, "Are you alright?!"

Ashley winced as she stood herself up, raising a single thumb to Alex with a laugh, "Solid, don't worry about it."

"ALEX!" Shiore called out as she formed another pair of clones for herself, "THIS THING ISN'T THE DOPANT! JUST ANOTHER EXTENSION OF HIM!"

"Are you sure?" Alex called back.

Shiore nodded, "If my hunch is correct, the real dopant should be at the source of the music." She aimed her sword at the large butler, "Archer and I will keep this thing busy, you and Shift should move on."

"Ya! Ice Queen, Kree and I got this!" Tara shouted, throwing a solid thumbs up at Alex, "Now go get her Superstar!"

Without wasting a moment, Ashley and Alex darted up the stairs at the back of the vestibule with Ashley limping at her first couple of steps before using her wings to carry her the rest of the way. The butler snarled, firing yet another barrage of cannons at Alex and Ashley only for them to be intercepted by a pair of Shiore's ice clones. The didn't withstand the hit, shattering to bits after one strike each but they served their purpose and allowed Alex and Ashley to reach the landing disappear down the landing above.

"Yo! Keep those creepy eyes over here big boy!" Tara barked at him, lashing her slicer forward in a slashing motion, "You're playing with the big girls now!" The butler glared back at Tara and Shiore.

"There is no play with the likes of you," he snarled, turning back to the two riders in front of him and aiming his cannons at them, "only pain."

The echo of cannon fire shook the halls as Alex and Ashley rushed down them, following the haunting melody to a large pair of doors at the very end of it. Without even thinking on it, Alex used Ryu-O's fire blasters to break down the door with a concussive burst of energy.

Kicking the door down, the two found themselves in the belly of the beast with the Melody Dopant still playing the organ at the back of the room.

"So… you arrived, Xtreme," Melody spoke in a cold apathetic tone of voice. "Six stepped foot in my garden, yet two I see… Tell me, how was it my creations tore your friends to sunder?"

"They aren't dead you dim witted edgelord," Ashley spoke up, stepping forward on her good leg, "I'd say you have about a minute or so until they all get there, so I suppose you have five seconds to tell us what we want to know if you would like to have even a chance of getting out of here breathing!"

"What you want to know?" Melody pressed a single finger down on one key, the chime of it echoing continuously as the dopant turned to face the two riders. "And what, pretell, might that be?" he asked as he rose to look them both in the eye, "You are but pests in my home. You are in no more a position to demand anything from me than a rat is to beg for scraps from a god."

"Just tell us where Madison is you prick! NOW!" Alex roared, firing a bolt of fire at the dopants face.

With a quick turn of his heel, Melody swiftly dodged the sudden blast while maintaining his scowl at the riders. Alex's attack did manage to strike something though, the organ behind Melody which quickly caught fire. Melody glanced over his shoulder and watched the instrument burn with an ever growing rage inside his soul.

"You can invade my home, covet my prized maiden, you could even spit on me if you'd wish," Melody ranted as he turned his gaze back to Ashley and Alex, crossing his arms over his chest, "But to destroy the maker of my craft? That is a crime I shall not forgive."

He pulled his arms apart, strumming the strings and keys on his arms as he flared out his hands sending a rampaging flourish of sound based blades hurling towards the two riders. Ashley darted out of the way using her wings, dodging to the right as Alex dodged to the left. The pair exchanged a simple glance before refocusing back on the dopant.

As the duo darted towards him, Melody wave after wave of sound based blades at them with Ashley and Alex just barely avoiding them. Gritting her teeth together, Ash shot out her hand towards Melody and clenched it into a fist. Before Melody could unleash another round of attacks, his entire body contorted together as if someone had lassoed him in a very tight rope. Lowering her arm, Ashley forced him to the ground with her one hand before encasing his whole body in water from the air to muffle the sound around him.

"ALEX! THE PIPES!" Ashley motioned her head towards the pipes connecting the organ to the wall and the rest of the manor. Following her instruction, Alex leapt towards the pipes and slashed them open. Melody snarled, glaring up towards Ashley.

"You!" he lashed his tongue at her, "You are the most vile human being I have ever encountered! You do not possess the right to even call yourself a woman!"

Ash smirked at him, planting her foot down firmly on his head, "Glass houses buddy."

"Yo!" She called back up to Alex, "We finishing this or not?"

Alex nodded, holding his sword up to point it at Melody as he approached, "Tell us where Madison is first."

Melody gritted his teeth together as he shot a glare towards Alex, "She's down the hall, last room on the left hand side.. Though I doubt she'd be awake by now."

Alex's eyes shot open in shock as he gasped, "Bastard! If you've done anything to her I'll!"

"Do what?" Melody glared at him, "More than you have already?" He laughed, "do whatever you intend now. But don't waste my time with talk!"

Alex gripped his sword as he snarled himself. "Fine, have it your way then."

From for the Star Memory from within his chest, he slammed it into the hilt of his sword and pulled the trigger on his sword. "STAR! ROCK! RYU-O! MAXIMUM DRIVE!" his blade screamed, Alex gripping it firmly with both his hands as he raised it like a guillotine to the dopant's throat.

"Melody," he growled with anger, "Your rampage… ENDS HERE!" A mixture of violet, red and green energy swirled around X-Calibur, Alex holding his blade up over his shoulder as it charged before pulling the trigger once again. "EXTREME MEMORY STORM!" He roared, swinging the sword down hard upon Melody, his dopant form and memory shattering upon contact.

Meanwhile, back in the vestibule, Tara and Shiore delivered the finishing blow to Melody's demon butler and landed on the floor behind him as his body burst into a mess of torn metal and black ink. Tara tucked away her slicer before standing proudly atop a ruined chest plate, victorious.

"OH YEAH! ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST!" She pumped her fist in the air before holding the same open hand up to Shiore in a high fiving motion, grinning under her mask, "Put 'er there!"

Shiore blinked, staring at Tara's hand before raising her own and awkwardly placing it over Tara's.

"That's my girl!" Tara swung her shoulder over Shiore and pulling her close, "You know, you and I make a pretty good team don't you think?"

Shiore just stared at her, "Don't touch me."

A sudden beam of light came in through the ceiling, the two riders looking up as the entire manor began to dissolve away from the roof down leaving only bare concrete and steel.

Tara paused, looking around in confusion, "Um… what just-"

"Haze and Darwin," Shiore chimed in, looking up the blocks of concrete that now made up the once brilliantly crafted stares, "they must have defeated the dopant."

Back in Melody's chamber, Haze and Alex powered down and stood over Larc's unconscious body. The two were back in their civilians forms with Ashley looking him over.

"Well Alex, we got what needed from him," Ashley winced for a moment as she hoisted Larc onto her shoulder, not looking Alex in the eye as she stood up. "You should get to Madison now. I bet she'll be pretty confused when she wakes up to see this place the way it is."

Alex nodded, letting out a gasp once he saw that Ashley's calf had become a deep purple. "Whoa! Ashley your leg! We should get you to-"

"Oh no, don't you start." She managed a laugh and a smirk, placing her hand over his lips with a wink. "I can make it downstairs easy, now get going alright?" Alex nodded once more, turning without a word to dart from the room and down the hall. As he vanished around the corner, so did the smirk on Ashley face, her heart plummeting to the bottom of her stomach. "God…" she smacked herself in the forehead, "I really am vile."

Alex rushed down the hall, checking every room until he came to one without a door. He gasped, and it was there that he saw her. That familiar red head of hair that had haunted his dreams since the day he gave her up. Madison stared out the window, now solid bars of steel instead of glass with nothing inside the room itself but a slab of concrete where the bed once was and a stack of metal crates where Larc's piano had been.

Alex's heart was beating faster than he could breath. After a moment to take in her sight, he stepped foward. "M-Madison?" he called out to her.

Madison jumped, turning to face him with a look of horror that changed to one of surprise. She gasped, only for a moment before her expression changed to one of indifference. "Oh… it's only you..." she muttered with a breath, looking away from him as she gripped the bars, "I'm guessing we're going then? Larc's been detained?"

"Yes… everything's alright…" Alex nodded, going up to her and throwing his arms around her without even thinking about the fact she no longer remembered him. "I'm just glad you're alright."

"I see…" Madison simply glanced at him "So that's what it takes for you to care then?"

Alex's heart sank, dropping his arms from where they held Madison and stepping away from her. "W-What?"

Madison turned to face him, a glare on her face directed exclusively at him. "You wait until I'm locked up like some bird to care about me?" Her hands were balled into fists, her whole body trembling. She looked away from him, her bloodshot eyes and stained cheeks a dead give away that she had been sobbing very recently. "Thanks... I guess. But in truth, I could have used it a hell of a lot sooner."

"Sooner, what…" Alex stammered, swallowing a bit as he looked Madison in the eye regardless of how much it hurt to do so. "What do you mean?"

Madison swallowed, looking Alex right in the eye as she spoke. "I remember you Alex Darwin, I remember everything! Sarah becoming that beast! Me almost dying! And one other, very important thing!"

"T-That being?" Alex shook, unsure of how to feel or what else to say.

"You… You weren't there," she told him simply, shaking her head at him. "Not while we were together, not after what happened. Not even now."

"Madison, come on!" Alex huffed, "You're being ridiculous!"

"Oh am I?!" I'm the one being ridiculous?!" Madison almost laughed. "Then tell me, how is me having a problem with how you acted ridiculous? I thought you were my boyfriend! You said you loved me! And the day I woke up, even though I didn't remember a thing, YOU weren't there! WHY?!"

"I... Well I…" Alex was at a loss for words, not knowing what else to say. In his need to say something, he answered only with, "What would you have done?"

Madison looked up him, more puzzled than anything else. "You... Want to know what I would have done?" She asked, Alex nodded, "I would have stayed by your side! I would have been there for you regardless of how hard it was for me! I would have known how much harder it was for you because THAT'S what love IS Alex Darwin! That's just what people who love each other do for one another!"

"Madison please!" Alex pleaded, "Can't we just talk this out?"

"I already did Alex," Madison glared at him, "and I'm done."

This forced Alex to pause, looking at her with a raised brow, "Done?"

"Done talking, and with you," She shook her head and walked passed him. "I wish the best for you, truly I do…. But you don't deserve me, not after all this."

In a desperate final move, Alex shot his hand out to grab Madison's. "Madison! Wait! Please!"

Almost on instinct, Madison shoved him away with every fiber of her being causing him to fall down to the ground. The pair gasped, locking eyes for a moment. It didn't last for long however, as Madison regained her glare second later. With balled fists, she turned away from him and stormed out.

Alex held his stomach, his heart sinking deeper and faster than it ever had before. As he sat, he felt something poking at him from underneath him. "Ow.. what the…" he reached under him, finding the memory with Madison's name on it now a dull grey as opposed to the vibrant pink it had been before. This only filled his head with even more questions that the boy was not prepared to deal with. In response, he simply shoved the memory into his pocket.

Outside, Marcoh and Sampson had driven their cars up to what remained of the manor with the riders taking some much needed r&r after the battle they had just been through. Carter looked back to the rubble.

"So, this whole manor was just another part of the dopants ability?" Carter asked.

Tara nodded, "Seems to be that way, doesn't it? Of course I suspected as much the entire time."

Cole looked at her with a grin, "You did not."

Sampson and Marcoh got Larc loaded into the car, Sampson looking to Ashley, "So, where's Alex and Ms Tyler?" he asked, beginning to worry.

"I'm sure they're…" Ashley spoke, only to fall silent as she fall Madison marching out from the manor. Ashley pointed over to her, the officer's gaze turning to the manor.

"Oh, and there she is," Sampson grinned, walking over to her.

Madison's eyes remained closed, refusing to look Sampson in the eye, "Larc's going away for a while… isn't he?"

Sampson nodded, placing his hand on her shoulder, "It's a lot to take in.. I'm sure. But we can explain it all to you if you'd like."

"That's okay, I already know…" she told him with yet another gulp of her emotions, "about the kamen riders, and the dopants. I remember it all, Sampson."

Sampson looked to her with a sad gaze and after a moment of he let out a remorse filled sigh. "Alright, well that will at least make everything simpler I suppose." He looked over to Marcoh, "John, please take Madison home, or anywhere else she'd wish to go. I'm sure she has earned a rest at the very least."

Marcoh simply nodded in agreement, opening the passenger side door to his car as Madison approached it. Madison looked up, meeting Ashley eye to eye.

"Hey… Madison…" Ashley waved to her with a sad smile, "glad to see you're okay."

"Same to you…" she nodded, "looks like you're involved with this whole rider thing too, huh?"

"Seems so," Ashley nodded back, "I'll be okay though, you go on and get going okay?"

"I will…" Madison climbed in, shutting down the door and rolling down the window to continue talking with Ashley, "just… do me a favor."

"Shoot," Ashley said.

"Look after Alex for me," Madison spoke, spotting Alex as he came out from the ruins of the manor to meet his gaze one final time, "he needs all the help he can get."

"I will," Ashley returned.

With that, Marcoh started up the car and drove off. It wasn't long before they were driving down the mountain, the sun setting over the horizon as Madison just stared out the window. Marcoh looked over to her, letting out a heavy sigh.

"So, is there anywhere you'd like to go?" he asked her, "I could take you to get something to eat if you'd like, I'm sure you must be hungry by now."

"Thank you but no, it's okay," Madison shook her head. She sat back in her seat, letting out a heavy yawn as she closed her eyes, tears beginning to run down them, "Please… just take me home."

**{Insert ending theme: "Return to Love" by Tomoe Ohmi}**

**Next time on Kamen Rider Ultimate Xtreme**

Life is filled with meetings and partings, when one story ends another begins.

What lies for the young riders now that the book has closed around Alex and Madison?

All will be decided when Kamen Rider Ultimate Xtreme continues in:

**Episode 37: The Eye of the Hurricane**

Gale! Raise your golden wings!


	4. Episode 37: The Eye of the Hurricane

**Episode 37: The Eye of the Hurricane**

Thirty years ago, Ms Seraphina sat in her dimly lit bar. The woman grinned while staring into her reflection within her blood red wine. The door cracked open, a much younger version of Jason stepping in alongside his wife Alice, Rylee, Joel and Derek.

Jason glared at Seraphina, motioning towards Derek, "Is this her Maverick? The one you spoke of?"

"I believe she can speak for herself," Derek smirked, bowing a hand to Seraphina. The lot of them stepped into the bar, Joel shutting the door behind them. "Show onto them what you did me."

Seraphina looked to them, pulling out a gold gaia memory marked with a D in the shape of a heart before striking the activation button. "DESIRE!" Cooed the memory in an alluring tone, Serapina tilting her head back as a connection port appeared just above her left breast.

Connecting the memory to her skin, the device dissolved into it transforming her into a pale blue succubus like being clad in a provocative ball gown. A pair of bat like wings sprouted from her wings as the group gasped in awe, save for Jason who merely stared with intrigue.

"So, this is the power you plan to give us? He asked bluntly, "Not entire my style."

"Do not fret, this form belongs to me alone," she placed four gold memories, one black memory and one white memory on the table. "These however, are yours."

"Star… Fata… Fury… Spite… Inertia…" Jason read off the memories in order, his eyes falling upon the final memory in the line. "Vainglory…" he reached out his hand to grab it, as if it was calling out to him. "And what exactly are we to do these?" He eyed Desire.

"Use them as a map," Desire smirked, "in your search for the keys to paradise."

Back in the present day, Seraphina while in her human form sat at her desk in her empty classroom polishing a memory marked with a V. It was gunmetal grey but possessed a blood red hue to it.

She smirked, eyeing the amber ring on her finger, "Well my darling sister. The events I set in motion so many years ago are about to come full circle."

The door to her class jimmied as Kat kicked it open. Limping tiredly into the room with a groan, she flopped onto the face of Seraphina's desk and groaned. Seraphina gawked at her, raising both her hands and brow as the girl stumbled towards her.

"Kat… darling…" Seraphina forced a grin, "my telling me what you are doing?"

"Failing at the mission you gave me," Kat's tired gaze met Seraphina's, "the guy's a white knight if I ever saw one!"

"Well then, looks as though we'll need to change our target then won't we?" Seraphina pulled out several blank worksheets, filling in the wrong answers to each question and marking them according. "Where are they right now?"

"Classes just ended… so Cole will be heading right home," Kat yawned, curling up on Seraphina's desk. "Gale wasn't in home room today, so she's probably at his place by now. Been going there everyday since lover boy confessed to her at that fancy house of her's… pretty sure that was the day after she got her memory back too."

"Pampered little princess… isn't she… a little bird all snug in a cage?" Ms Seraphina cooed to her servant, patting her on the head before gently stroking her black head of long almost fur like hair, "To a stray cat like you, I bet it most bother you. Doesn't it?"

As Seraphina patted Kat on the head, the girl's laid back and carefree demeanor changed as her eyes narrowed into a glare.

"Ya… it does…" Kat sat open, looking Seraphina in the eye with her own that were now filled with anger. "But what should I do?! Those two are like peanut butter and bread!"

"How about you use your imagination a little?" Ms Seraphina slid the stack of failing worksheets she had written up and marked with Kat's name. "We do not need to disrupt them permanently, only a large enough reaction."

"Ah… I get it," Kat smirked, "dip a little chocolate in the peanut butter."

"If you wish to put it in such a crude way, yes," Seraphina laughed, "You said they should both be at his place correct? I would go now if I were you."

{Insert opening theme: "Alones" by Aqua Timez}

Later afternoon, Cole walked up to the apartment building his parents owned. It was a small building, only three floors with two units on each floor. From the outside looking in it looked as if it were a normal house. Cole's family and Alex lived on the main floor with Carter taking the unit above Alex on the second. The other unit on Carter's floor seemed to be a revolving door of tenants with the unfortunate luck of housing one nut job after the other. The basement meanwhile housed an olympic gymnast in one unit and a sweet old lady who constantly confused Alex and Carter in the other.

Cole came in through the vestibule, raising a brow a bit in surprise when he saw Ashley sitting in front of Alex's door. A brace was on her injured leg, but that wasn't what surprised Cole. She had dropped her leather punk attire in favor of a midnight blue wrap dress, black tights and red platform heels. Her face was done up with ruby red lipstick and vibrant blue eyeshadow.

A smile came to Cole's face, figuring she had been sitting there for a while. "Hey there Ash, you're looking nice."

Ash blushed hard, grinning ear to ear, "Oh! This get up?!" she jumped a bit before hiding her face behind her knees. "It's nothing special, just something I threw on."

"Well, either way Alex is a lucky guy to have you checking up on him," Cole checked his mail then eyed Alex's door, "how is he anyhow? He feeling any better?"

"Wouldn't know, he won't open the door," Ashley huffed as she got up to stretch, "just keeps watching the same old show over and over again."

"Figures as much," Cole let out a huff of his own, fishing out his keys, "come on, I'll let you in."

He went to Alex's door, unlocking it before stepping inside with Ashley following close behind him. As they entered, a gasp of shock followed by a gag of disgust came upon Ashley and Cole as what they found truly horrified them. The place was a mess with food and litter scattered all over the place, with the biggest mess of course being the shell of a human sprawled out onto the couch, still fully clothed hoodie and with a blanket and half eaten bags of chips covering him. He stared at the tv, his gaze blank as the bright colors danced over his eyes.

Cole let out a huff, crossing his arms as he looked to his friend. "Come on man, it's been well over a week already. How much longer are you going to lay here watching the same anime over and over?"

"Y-Yeah… just a minute…" Alex muttered weakly, pointing to the tv, "just wanna… watch this."

"If someone ever tells me it's a mistake to have hope, I'll just tell them they're wrong and I'll keep tell them til they believe," spoke the cartoon girl with bright pink pigtails as Cole went over to the tv and shut it off, the dvd player along with it.

"Look, I get your still upset about what Madison said, but you can't let it rule your life forever," Cole looked at him as Alex could just barely glance up at him, "it's not healthy, none of this is."

Alex narrowed his gaze at Cole and nodded, rolling over to bury his face into the couch, "I know…" he yawned, "I should sleep on it. Lock the door behind you, okay?"

With another huff, Cole looked to Ashley, "Ash, Tara and I have a thing to get to. Make sure he doesn't choke on his tears please?"

Ashley nodded as Cole let, looking back to Alex with a sigh, "Welp…" she eyed all the garbage, "guess I'm the one who needs to clean all this up, aren't I?"

Cole came to the door of his apartment and went to unlock it. As he opened the door he caught a whiff of something steamy and delicious. A grin came to his face as he opened the door and entered to the sight of Tara setting the table with a full course meal all while wearing a frilly yellow sundress.

"Oh you're home," she smiled with glee as she finished setting the table. Practically skipping over to Cole, she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him on the lips before a pout came onto her face, "How's Superstar doing?"

Cole frowned, giving her a thumbs down. "Ash is over there trying to get his ass in gear… but I think that's easier said than done at this point."

"Did she try using hers to motivate his?" Tara asked.

Cole cocked up a brow, looking at her with a bit of chuckle, "With how dolled up she is, she just about might." He grabbed Tara by her waist and began kissing her neck, "Speaking of, what's with this frilly thing?" He tugged at her dress.

"Well I mean, since we've got the place to ourselves for the next couple weeks I thought I'd play housewife for you," she looked at her dress, her smile dropping a bit, "but it's not really me.. is it?"

"Nonsense," he kissed her cheek, "I think you can pull off whatever look you want to."

The kiss to her cheek made Tara's face light up with glee, looking back at Cole with a smirk before poking him on the nose, "Good, because I'm gonna." At that moment, her phone rang and Tara immediately picked it up. "Oh, thats dad. Sorry, gotta take this." She motioned to the table that Kree was still assisting in getting set up, a tiny bowl of nuts and bolts set out for him. "Eat!"

"You don't need to tell me twice," Cole sat down, giving Kree a good pet on the head. The little mechanical bird cooed with every pet then male gave him.

"Hi daddy, how's the trip going? Cole's folks enjoying themselves okay?" Tara asked into her phone, inviting herself into Cole's bedroom. "I'm just relieved they accepted the invite so quick, its like they've never gone on vacation before."

As Cole began to eat, a knock came to his door. He quickly swallowed, "Coming!" He got up to answer it, his grin instantly dropping the moment he saw Kat standing there on the other side.

She smiled at him, "Oh thank god you're home." She reached into her shoulder bag, "I was wondering, if you aren't to busy maybe-"

"Kat, for the last time no," he began to close the door.

Kat shoved her foot in the door, preventing him from closing it. "Cole! Please! Its different this time!" Kat pleaded with him, a sad desperate look coming to her face as she fished out her worksheets. "I was told you could help me with school work. Please Cole. I'm gonna fail if my grades don't improve."

Cole stared at her close, feeling she was up to something again. However the look of genuine heartbreak on her face told him otherwise. He let out a sigh then opened the door to her.

"Alright," he regained his grin as he invited her in, "but let's make this quick okay? I'm kinda in the middle of something."

"Oh I yeah, I get that," Kat grinned as she eyed the food on the dining room table, strolling inside and plopping herself down on the couch. "But seriously Cole, thanks a bunch for this. I'm like, the only one in our class that doesn't get this stuff."

"Well, what are you having trouble with?" Cole asked her, sitting down beside her.

Kat flipped through her work, her heart racing a bit as the male drew closer to her, "Hmm…" she blushed to give the impression that she was embarrassed, "I think all of it?"

On the other side of the hall Ashley had finished cleaning Alex's apartment and now only one mess remained. The boy himself that she now simply stared at from a chair she had folded out for herself, hunching over with her cheeks in the palms of her hands. Letting out a heavy sigh, she got up and walked towards him before attempting to pull him up

"Come on, let's just get you out of the house for a while." She hoisted him up, "or at least get you into the shower. You smell like year old cheese."

As she moved him off the couch, she suddenly felt the weight of Alex's body push her towards the wall. With a gasp she turned around to face him only to find that she was pinned to the wall with his arms on either side of her. His eyes stared vacantly into hers.

"Ash… I'm hurting really bad…" he grabbed her shoulder with one hand and cupped her cheek with the other. This simple action made her heart skip a beat, her whole body beginning to shiver as his lips drifted closer to her's, "Please… just help me feel something…"

His lips drew closer to hers. She gulped, her face bright red at the thought of the impending contact.

"Whoa there bucko!" she shoved him back onto the couch, catching her breath as her heartbeat was still going nuts. "We… We can't! We just can't! You're still messed up over Madison and me… well, Sarah didn't leave me much better off…"

"Sarah…" Alex raised a brow, looking up at her, "Did.. something happened between you two?""

"You mean.. you don't know?" Her face was bright red, holding her arms crossed as she avoided Alex's gaze, "I loved her, okay. I loved her more than anything else.. She and I tried dating way back when but, she went and fell for Madison just like you did." She shook her head, "You both loved her, and I'm doomed to be the one not good enough for Sarah then, for either of you." She rolled her head back before sliding down the wall to sit on the floor before letting out a big sigh. "God, why am I such a bitch?"

Alex just stared at her for a bit, his heart sinking deeper than it already was as he listened to Ashley vent. Eventually he gripped his hair and let out a sigh.

"You aren't bitch" he told her with a gulp. "It's perfectly normal to feel that way, isn't it? So why bag on yourself for it?"

Ashley smirked with a laugh, "Because I just happen to fall for people who were taken by Madison's raw charm… that's why. Yeah, I like you Alex, I've liked you since the moment you turned my life around. I'm just, glad I could finally tell you is all."

Alex narrowed his gaze at her, "So… that's why you kissed me back then? Not for Madison's sake, but for your own?"

"Eyup…" Ashley huffed, staring blankly at the floor and refusing to look Alex in the eye, "and I feel worse about it the more I think about it."

"If I can say something…" he got up from the couch and sat down beside her, "I for the record think you're great. But to be honest, I'm just not sure I'm ready for a committed relationship just yet. I bombed hard with Madison, and I would hate to do that to anyone else, especially not you."

"Yeah… I can understand that…" Ashley rubbed her eyes from tears. She hid her face from Alex for a moment before managing a grin, her face still flushed from the overwhelming emotions that had previously consumed her, "But… to be perfectly honest…" She blushed hard, her head sinking a bit into her shoulders, "just because neither of us are ready for that sort of relationship, doesn't mean we still can't do other things." Her heart was racing at this point.

"Other things?" Alex raised a brow at her, his own face turning bright red, "like what?"

"God you're a dense boy," Ashley managed a laugh, her grin getting wider as she began tugging at his shirt. She ran her one hand up it and clawing at his chest, "Guess I'm gonna need to make you a man, aren't I?"

"And it's just like that," Cole told Kat as he jotted down the answer, looking towards her. "You get it now?"

"Oh yeah, thanks Cole you're a lifesaver," Kat grinned at him, catching the door to Cole's room begin to open. She smirked, grabbing Cole's shoulder and kissing him square on the lips.

"Hey Cole, when am I gonna get a super form anyhow? I feel that it's a bit unfair, what with Ash getting the wings and-" She paused, her eyes shooting open when she laid eyes upon Kat locking lips with Cole.

"Oh, Tara," Kat pulled away from him, smirking at Cole, "I didn't know you were here."

Tara balled her hand into a fist, charging over to Kat and punching her in the jaw with enough force to send her hurling at a wall. "GOD! WHAT IS WITH YOU! I wouldn't care but the guy already told you no! I mean seriously, do you not see how much of a fucking creep you're being?!"

"Whoa!" Cole quickly got up, "Tara! I didn't think you were actually gonna hit her!"

"The harlot forced herself on you!" Tara barked back at him, "The hell was I supposed to do?!"

"Okay… that tears it…" Kat laughed maniacally as she picked herself up off the ground, her bones cracking as she forced them back into alignment. She dug her hands into her pocket and shoulder bag, "I wanted to be a sweet, innocent little homewrecker. But now? Now, I'm PISSED!"

She ripped a dopant driver out from her bag and slapped it out to her waist before pulling out a gold gaia memory marked with a G styled in a beastly all consuming maw. "GORGE!" Screamed her memory as she struck its activation button, slotting it into place on her driver.

"I hate that I need to ruin that spread you both got," Kat snarled, baring her claws at Tara, "but I'll just have to get over it!"

Kat's memory transformed her into a humanoid cat like creature dressed in gold ninja robes. Razor sharp blades made up her claws as she stared down Tara and Cole from outside the robes and fur that covered her mouth and face leaving only a pair of glaring blood red eyes visible from the outside.

Tara laughed, "Oh great! Just another reason to kick your ass into the dirt!" She smirked diviously, extending her arm out to call Kree to connect to her arm as she pulled out her Gale memory. She struck the activation button, "GALE!"

Back in Alex's apartment, a loud shattering of glass caused Ashley and Alex pop their heads up from under the blanket they had been covering them and the couch. Their eyes were wide open as they saw Kat in her dopant form and Tara in her rider form locked in an all out brawl they quickly made its way out into the streets. They exchanged a glance before they both shot to their feet, Alex bolting to the door.

"Hey genius!" Ashley called to him, rolling her eyes in disbelief as she slipped her tights back on. "Put your clothes back on mister!"

"Oh yeah, right!" Alex redressed himself then grabbed Ashley's wrap dress, inspecting it for a second. "Hey Ash… what happened to your… underthings?"

"Wasn't wearing any," she told him bluntly, grabbing her dress before slipping it on along with her shoes before darting out the door. Alex just stood there, face bright red at that revelation. "COME ON SLOWPOKE!" Ash called out to him.

Back on the road, Kat lept from lamp post to lamp post as cars rushed from below her. She looked over her shoulder and smirked as she spotted Tara close behind her on her driver. She however felt her heart stop when she noticed Alex, Cole and Ashley not far behind the wind rider all of them in their respective rider forms. Alex and Cole were chasing after her on their bikes while Ash soared through the air with her wings.

Kat gritted her teeth as she spoke into a pale blue gemstone tethered by a silver chain around her neck. "Desire, I may have pulled more than the intended target. Ya think that toy of yours can back me up?"

Within the shroud of her bar, ms Seraphina contemplated this in her succubus dopant form. She eyed Vince with a smirk who met her gaze with a glare of his own.

"Of course my pet, hang tight for now," she cooed as Vince gritted his teeth, "find a way to cage them until Crave arrives."

"AND HOW DO YOU EXPECT ME TO DO THAT!" Kat barked back.

Kat's backpack caused Desire to glare at the ring she wore. "With that tone, you may handle it yourself my pet," she hissed at her, "and should you speak to me again with that tone you'll find yourself right back in the gutter I found you. Is that what you wish?"

Kat froze, her mind sending her back to when she was no more than five years old in rags and being thrown from the door of a small grocery store. "Steal from me again and I'll treat ya how people should treat PESTS like YOU! NOW BEAT IT!" Those words echoed in her head as she snapped back to reality.

Kat's lip quivered, swallowing her emotions while she tightened her claws. "N-No ma'am, not in the slightest..." She told her, regaining her smirk as she eyed an active scrap yard in the distance. "Tell Crave to take his sweet time. I know just how to handle the pests tailing me."

Back within the bar, Desire simply smirked. "Excellent my pet, Crave will be there shortly," her ring dulled as she turned to Vince. "I'd get going if I were you."

Vince let out a huff, looking away from Desire as he went to leave. "I will return.

The moment Vince had left, Desire looked to the blood red memory in her hand that was marked with a V, the gun metal grey parts of it now completely gone.

"Return or not, it makes little difference to me," she smirked as she turned her attention to the door to the back room of the bar, "I already have all I could ever gain from you, Crave."

Kat continued the leap across power lines, reaching a large fence and effortlessly hoping over it and landing on the ground of the scrapyard. "Never," she gritted her teeth as she recalled the cold chill of rain on her dirt covered skin, "I will NEVER go back to that!"

She became lost in a memory of her as young girl covered only by a torn blue dress that was two sizes too small for her, running in the pouring rain as an empty glass bottle was tossed at her. It shattered on the ground, cutting her feet as she darted into an ally, panting heavily as she attempted to catch her breath.

"Oh my…" a soft voice cooed to her, "you certainly have been through a lot this night, haven't you little one?"

Kat jumped, looking up to see Seraphina, clad it a form fitting white blouse and black pencil skirt. She held an umbrella, taking a step forward and reaching out a hand to her. Kat jumped, raising her fists up to the woman.

Seraphina only smirked, "Oh my.. you certainly have some fight in you, don't you?" She reached into her bag and pulled out an apple wrapped in plastic. "But I am not going to hurt you, I only wish to help you… so long as you help me."

Kat inched towards it, sniffing as Seraphina held it out to her. Kat swiped it from the woman, biting into it plastic and all. Seraphina smirked while Kat spat out the plastic before continuing to eat.

"So… is that a deal?" Seraphina asked as her white skin became pale blue.

"If you feed me like this, I'll do whatever you say!" Kat barked back as she finished the apple, not even leaving the core uneaten.

"Exactly what I was looking to hear," Seraphina reached forward, patting the girl on the head as her eyes changed from a deep brown to a piercing yellow, her hair switching from blond to a deep violet.

The girl licking her hands clean of what was left of the apple, gasping when she found her hands had changed into a pair of grey cat paws. Whiskerd sprouted from her face and even her ears began to change.

"Hey! What are you trying to pull!" The girl pleaded, smacking the woman's legs with her paws as her entire body began to shrink, becoming more cat like in the process. "STOP IT! I TAKE IT BACK! CHANGE ME BACK NOW! RIGHT MEOOW!"

With that single cry of meow, the girl's entire body was now that of a chubby grey kitten. Seraphina meanwhile had reverted to her human form just as the kitten began to claw at her.

"Sorry, but a stray kitten is far easier to come home with than a stray child," Seraphina cooed, ignoring the pain of the kitten's bite to her one hand as she patted its head with her free one. "However, that temper needs to be… adjusted."

Rubbing its head, the kitten's snarls soon changed to a gentle purr. The kitten rubbing up against Seraphina as she scooped her up.

"Now then, what are we going to call you? As a human, I was thinking Kat… but as an actual cat… Hmm… Cheshire, yes that suits you nice doesn't it?" Seraphina continued to pet the kitten as she stood back up, "I have plans for you little Cheshire, so long as you behave."

{End of Part A}

{Start of Part B}

Far across down in a park surrounded by trees, Shiore sat on a bench in the shade typing away at her phone while eyeing a birthday party that was going on under the canopy of a small gazebo in the center of the park. Her thumbs stopped typed, Shiore staring almost longingly at the party before her.

Taking in a gulp, she eyed the changing leafs that still clung to the trees as a cold autumn wind rushed over her. "It's getting to be about that time of year again… isn't it?" her gaze sharpened as she spotted Carter approaching her. Due to the change in weather he now wore a deep red leather jacket. "Oh.. its you.." she sighed, tucking her phone away, "What do you want?"

"I was hoping to talk," he handed her a can of coffee, "This whole thing, it's a bit of a mess isn't it?"

Shiore sighed once again, moving over to allow Carter to sit down, "Thats putting it lightly… course it wouldn't be that way if you pointed us in the direction of your former boss."

"I would if I could," Carter told her, sitting down and taking a sip from his own drink, "Marcoh and I have been going over it, but META locked me out completely. My own mother changed numbers on me."

"Sucks to be all alone, doesn't it?" She glanced at him, "not that I would know."

"I know, the damage done to your clan… it's all the more reason we need to end this as soon as possible," Carter leaned back on the bench, glancing over to Shiore after a moment, "Which reminds me… what are you gonna do? When all this over I mean."

"Head home, rebuild what I can," Shiore told him simply with a shrug, "it's not like I have much else keeping me here after all, do I?"

Carter let out a sigh then nodded, "Yeah.. I guess that's true." Carter was about to speak once more when his phone went off, "Talk to me." He answered, Shiore's scanner going off at the same time. Carter quickly stood up, his driver materializing around his waist, "I'll be right there." He turned to Shiore.

"Marcoh?" Shiore asked him, Carter nodding in response.

He pulled out his gaia memory, "The others are already engaged, we should move quick."

"RYU-O!" Cried the memory as he struck the activation button, slamming into his driver and switching it on. "RYU-O!" The driver roared as a whirlwind of fire transformed Carter into his rider form.

Carter extended a hand to Shiore, turning his back to him. "Come, we'll get there faster by the air."

Shiore gritted her teeth, letting out a huff as she took his hand and climbed onto his back. "We'd better. I wish to not rely anyone for longer than I have too."

Carter let out a huff of his own, "That makes two of us." He spoke once more before taking off into the sky."

Within the crater of the scrap yard, Kat leapt from bulldozer to bulldozer. The workers gasped at the sudden appearance of the cat like dopant, one worker jumping once again when Tara knocked on the window of his vehicle.

"If I were you sir, I'd get you and your buddies out of here," the wind rider told him as she pulled her flail made up three feather like blades tethered to a chain from the back of her belt, "this is gonna get ugly."

The worker gulped, nodding as he hoped from the vehicle and grabbed a radio from his vest. "CLOCK OUT TIME! WE'RE GETTING OUTTA HERE EARLY!" On their que, all the other workers bolted as Tara marched towards were Kat sat perched atop a tall tower of scrap metal.

"Even in a blinding rage, you still seek to ensure others are out of the way?" Kat chuckled with a smirk as she hopped down to meet Tara's stride, "You are a strange on, you know that."

"You don't get it do you?" Tara smirked under her mask as she cracked her flail, widing her arm back before hurling the triple bladed weapon at the dopant before her. Kat leapt out of the way of the attack, dodging to right only for Tara to bolt in that same direction and grab her by the throat.

"Wha?!" Kat gasped.

"Staring down an opponent like you…" Tara stared her down, tightening her grasp on the dopant, "I'm the calmest I've ever been."

"This girl…all this chaos around her..." Kat thought to herself as she was thrown it rusted scraps. "Is she… like the eye of a hurricane or something?!" Hitting the ground, she kicked the metal off herself with a wince from the pain of being through. Kat then gritted her teeth, clenching the dirt within her tightening claws. "That just… pisses me off even more!" Kat roared, darting right for Tara with her claws at the ready.

At the main gate to the scrapyard, Alex, Cole and Ashley rushed in opposite the current of fleeing workers. Cole was in his default Rock forn with Alex taking on Star Runner. Alex and Cole's gaze darted from left to right in search for Tara as Carter and Shiore touched down on the ground in front of them in their base rider forms.

"Where's Thea?" Carter asked as Shiore hopped from his back.

Alex caught his breath, Cole pointing off to the left. "We saw her chase the dopant that way." The earth rider told Carter.

"Then let's not waste time getting to her," Carter gritted his teeth together, turning on his heel when a chilling voice filled the air.

"Oh no… I'm afraid you five won't be going anywhere," A deep green muscular dopant called out to them as he emerged from the shadows of the scrap piles.

"Crave," Ashley sucked her teeth, "I was wondering when you were going to show your ugly mug here."

"Likewise Shift," Crave glared at her, "though of all of us, I never imagined you would be the one to betray me."

"I didn't betray anyone Crave," Ash glared back at him under her mask, "I just needed someone to set me on the right path, nothing more."

"Right path?" Crave raised a brow, chuckling slightly. He readied his claw and raised his arm, "Well then, allow me to mark where yours ends!"

He let out a roar, hurling a trio a energy blades from his arm at the riders. Ashley acted quickly, pulling as much water from the air as she could with a flick of her wrists and forming it into a large barrier between Crave's attack and her allies.

Shiore tossed a pair of kunai into the water, freezing the shield into a wall of ice which was strong enough to take Crave's attack. Amidst the dust and echoes from the fallout of the onslaught, Carter rushed forward and blasted Crave with several large fire shots from the palms of his hands.

As he readied his forth shot, he gasped as Crave was suddenly in front of him with the demon eyes of his dopant form stared deeply into that of the fire rider's. He grabbed Carter's arm and twisted it, sending him to his knees.

"Thats a nice trick you have there boy…" Crave snarled, the color of Carter's arm that Crave held eroding away as as sickly green copy of it formed on Crave's arm. "But now it's mine."

More and more of Carter's armor began to erode into a dull grey, Crave only being stopped by a pair of Yuki clones darting towards him and slashing at his back with their swords.

Dropping Carter's armor, Crave shot off a blast of sickly green fire towards the one clone to destroy it before grabbing the other. "I will be taking that power too."

The clone dissolved into Crave's arm, Shiore wincing loudly before falling to her knees with only her sword keeping the strength to hold her.

"Shiore!" Alex barked, rushing to her side only to be shoved away by the ice rider.

"Get Gale… both of you..." Shiore barked as she trembled, "NOW!"

Alex shook for a moment before balling his hand into a fist and nodding. He turned his gaze towards Ashley. "Ash?... You three be careful, alright?"

Ashley was shaking but wasn't letting it show, "I wasn't even finished with you Superstud. I'm not gonna let my old boss be the end of me, let alone them."

Without a second word, Alex and Cole darted off towards Tara and Kat.

Cole couldn't help but look to Alex with a grin under his mask, "So… Tara was right afterall."

Alex looked to him and blushed, raising a brow, "What's that supposed to mean?!"

With heightened ferocity Kat slashed her claws at Tara, the wind rider just barely dodging her swipes before grabbing both of Kat's arms.

"WHY?!" Kat barked at her, staring Tara down, "I tried to steal your boyfriend, I punched a hole in his window, and now I'm threatening to kill you! So WHY aren't you ANGRY?!"

"Because, that's just how the wind is," Tara told her with a chuckle the eyes of Kree on her driver flaring bright orange for a moment. "Be in a gentle breeze or a raging storm, the wind never changes. It faces any challenge as it is, because challenge is nothing more than a passing thing. I can overcome anything, even you!"

With her roar. Tara shot a powerful front snap kick right into Kat's jaw sending her flying backwards and shooting the ring that formed the rider's gale slicer off Tara's ankle and into the air. Tara caught and twirled it into its slicer form as Cole and Alex reached her.

"Tara!..." Alex panted as he caught his breath, "you alright? We're here… to help…"

"Thanks but I got her on the ropes," Tara smirked as she approached Kat, the dopant rising to her feet while glaring at Tara with her claws up. "So, you gonna cry uncle or are we gonna drag this out for another chapter?"

Kat snarled widening her stance as the two circled each other, "What's it to you?"

"Alright, then while we're dancing I got a question for you," Tara glared at Kat, "If you like Cole, why sneak around my back? You coulda kissed him all you wanted, maybe even go further than that and I wouldn't have cared. But that whole sneak creep thing, that's what got on my and I'm sure his nerves."

"It doesn't matter how much I liked him or you," Kat's snarling grew more violent, "I was given orders, and I followed them… that's all there is to it. But I doubt a bird in a cage like you wouldn't get it."

"Bird in a cage, huh?" Tara raised a brow, "Sounds more to me like you're the one in a cage, Kat."

Kat's eyes shot open in shock, snapping back to an image of her in a cat carrier with a young brown haired Tara stared into it with wide innocent eyes. "This is Cheshire Thea," Rylee's voice echoed in Kat's mind, "He's going to be living with us for the next little while."

"Oh wow…" the young Thea in awe before smiling, "Okay! I'll treat him like the prince he is! But can we let him out now? I hate cute things being locked in cages."

Kat's mind flashed back to reality, gritting her teeth together before letting a roar and darting towards Tara. Alex and Cole raised their weapons, ready to jump in only for Tara to extend her hand out towards them.

"No! This fight is my," she told them, gripping her slicer before tossing it to the side. As Kat drew closer to her, Tara pulled her memory from her driver and dropped her armor.

Tara stares Kat down, the dopant smirking as sue raised her claw. She was about to strike when suddenly, she found herself wrapped in Tara's arms. "W-Wha…"

"Its alright Cheshire…" Tara smiled warmly at Kat, kissing her on the forehead as she held her, "You aren't in a cage anymore… you don't have to do anything you don't want to anymore…"

"That name…" Kat'd lip quivered, "how do you know? Who told you?"

"No one did… I knew right from the moment I saw you..." Tara said with a shake of her head, "Well, once I remembered I had a cat anyway."

Kat trembled, looking up to Tara before taking in a huge gulp to swallow her emotions. "U-Uncle…" she spoke as she pulled her memory from her driver, powering down. Her face hung a little, letting out a sigh of defeat.

"Good girl," Tara grinned, lifting Kat's head up a bit before kissing her on the lips. "MUAH! And there's your reward Kat… Cheshire? Which name would you prefer?"

Kat's eyes were wide open, just staring at Tara, "Kat- Katlyn would be fine actually…" She blushed hard, staring at Tara, "But why are you so weird!"

"Oh it's just the way I am," Tara told Kat as she snuggled the black haired girl's face off, holding her there for a moment after before looking at Cole, "What do you think Rocky? Think you can handle to pretty girls from this point forward?"

Cole managed a chuckle, "I think we'll need to talk about that later, we still need to deal with Crave."

"Oh I can handle him, easy," Tara boasted, pushing her chest out and resting her hands on hips.

"No you can't Tara, not on your own," an unfamiliar voice called out to her from her wrist.

"Huh? What the?" Tara gasped as she raised her arm to look at Kree who's eyes were burning bright orange. "Kree?! Did you just talk?!"

Kree simply nodded, "All because you finally let me into your heart, by shutting down the barriers you kept around it. And now I am finally able to give you the full might of my power."

A bright orange burst of energy fired out of Kree's eyes and into Tara's hand, Tara gasping as it formed into an amber colored gaia memory marked with an H shaped like twisting tornadoes merging together.

Tara's eyes sparkled as she stared at the new memory, her usual devil like smirk coming back as she gripped it tightly in her hand, "FINALLY!" She cheered, tossing her Gale Memory over to Alex, "Superstar! Do what you do with this!"

Alex jumped, catching the memory after a fumble or two before nodding to Tara, "Right!"

The Xtreme memory descended down from the sky, connecting to Alex's driver as the boy split it open, "XTREME!" Cried the driver as Alex ascended to his ultimate form, slipping Tara's gaia memory into the maximum drive slot on his belt. "GALE! MEMORY CHARGE!" Cried the driver once more as the middle portion of Alex's suit shimmered bright yellow for a moment, a pair of elegant silver wings flaring out from his shoulder armor.

"Alright! Looking slick there partner!" Tara gave Alex a thumbs up before looking to Kree on her wrist. "Now, it's our time to shine."

Tara held the memory up high and struck the activation button, "HURRICANE!" Cried the memory, Tara slamming into the top of Kree's driver mode before flipping his head around. "HURRICANE!" Cried the memory once more as a strong storm of wind erupted from Tara, transforming her into a far more regal yet hyper aggressive variation of her standard rider form.

Her armor was heavier and covered in amber tribal markings. A long blade hung from each of her hips and large bright yellow eagle wings with orange tips now extended from her back.

Tara looked to Alex, her gaze narrowed as she pulled the blades off her hips and combined them into a double ended sword. "Lets fly." She told him before taking off into the sky, Alex following shortly after with a kick of his own.

Back by the main entrance to the scrapyard, Crave had Carter and Shiore on the ropes with the six clones he had conjured, Ashley just barely dodging his attacks as he fought him directly. She lost her footing just for a moment, but that was enough for the green dopant to claw at her back and erode away her wings.

"GAH!" She cried out as her wings became puddles by her feet and Crave donned a pair of sickly green water based wings of his own.

"Now… we end this…" Crave growled at her, raising his hand to her and charging up a ball of fire. Before he fired it however, a familiar sound to Crave roared over the pile of scrap metal. One that he thought he could disregard.

"GORGE!" Cried out a gaia memory as Kat swooped down from above and pulled down her face mask, opening her jaws as wide as possible to swallow the blast of fire whole. She then spat it right back out at Crave, forcing him to leap back just to avoid it.

Crave gritted his teeth as he stared down Kat, "Gorge! What are you doing?!"

"Whatever the hell I what for once," Kat told him bluntly as she darted towards him. "Starting by taking you down!"

Crave raised his claws just as Kat bit down on the arm the housed Ryu-O's fire blast. With a snarl and a look of confusion, Crave raises his claw to attack. That was when Kat began to suck inward, Crave feeling his own strength begin to weaken. Crave fell to his knees as the stolen Ryu-O armor crumbled.

"Wh-What did you do to me?!" Crave barkes as Kat released him from her jaws.

"Just watch and learn," Kat inhaled as she turned to Ashley, spitting out a navy blue ball of energy at her. Ashley's wings came back once the ball hit her, her armor even repair from the damage.

Kat then inhaled once more and spat out two more balls of energy at Carter and Shiore, one red the other pale blue. Their own armor repaired itself once the colored orbs hit their matching rider.

Carter wasted no time and struck a pair of Crave's clones, taking them both out with one shot "Shiore…" he spoke to the rider behind him, "do you feel-"

"Stronger?" She asked, finishing his sentence as she gripped her sword and conjured a pair of her own ice clones with a snap of her finger, "Yes… and then some."

It wasn't long before Alex and Cole rushed it, Cole slashing one of Crave's clones with Biter's wrist mounted laser sword while Alex slashed apart another with X-Calibur. Two more clones remained, encroaching on Shiore and Carter. Before they could take another step however, two yellow arrows of light roared down from the sky and struck the clones, shattering them instantly.

Once the clones were dealt with Tara touched down, her sword Hurricane Smiter now having the shape of a bow.

"Thea?" Carter gasped, "Is that you?"

"The gal, the myth, the legend herself," Tara smirked at her brother under her mask. She eyes Crave, her, Gorge and the other riders forming up in a line around him. Crave, with nowhere else to run, backed up into one of the piles of scrap metal.

"Crave!" Tara roared at him, pulling her memory from her driver and placing it into her bow before aiming it at the dopant before her, "Your rampage ends here!"

"HURRICANE! MAXIMUM DRIVE!" Cried out Tara's memory as it began to charge.

Alex looked at her, "That's my line."

"We've got six chapters to go after this," Tara patted him on the shoulder, "let me have this one?"

"Alright, then I'll just follow your lead here," Alex refocused on Crave, closing his driver before opening it again.

"XTREME! MAXIMUM DRIVE! GALE! MAXIMUM DRIVE!" Cried both of Alex's memories, gripping his sword as the blade began to glow bright yellow.

"XTREME TORNADO!" Tara and Alex cried out in unison, Tara firing a bright orange arrow at Crave and Alex a bright yellow slash of energy.

The two merged together in the air as they struck Crave, engulfing him in an explosion. After a moment, the smoke cleared and Vice stood glaring at the riders.

Alex gasped upon seeing the face of Sarah's older brother, "Vince?" He muttered, perplexed.

"Damn you… Alex .." Vince growled as he limped forward, gripping his Crave gaia memory only moments before it shattered in his clenched fist. "Why must you always be the one… who stands in my… way…"

Vince's eyes slowly shut as he fell forward towards the dirt. Alex darted forward, catching him just before the older man hit the dirt. Alex stared in silence for a few moments, gulping sharply as the setting sun faded beyond the horizon.

Once it was dark, Alex looked to the other riders, "Get Marcoh and Sampson over here."

Cole and Ashley nodded, Cole pulling out his phone as everyone powered down, returning to their civilian forms.

Some time passed and Marcoh and Sampson arrived on the scene with three cop cars, Vince being cuffed and loaded into the back of one car now that he was awake. Alex stared at him over Sampson's shoulder, frozen for a while before finally mustering the strength to march himself over to vince and look him in the through the lowered window.

"Vince… there's still one thing I don't understand," Alex spoke, resting his hands on the door of the car, "Why do this? Why do any of this?"

"You… want to know why?" Vince scoffed, turning to face Alex with a glare, "Then why Alex, did you murder my sister? Why did you kill Sarah?"

Alex gasped, jumping back as the sensation of running his fist through the Reptilian dopant flooded back to him. "I… didn't do it by choice..." he muttered, trying to find the right words.

Vince narrowed his gaze at Alex, "But still, it was your hand that ended her life. It is that reason, and that reason alone, that I will always hate you Alex Darwin."

Sampson smacked the top of the car, glaring at Vince, "Alright, that's enough from you." He looked to the woman in the front of the car, "Take him away Ro."

The woman nodded, rolling up the window and drove off. Vince and Alex exchanged one single glance as he was driven off, Vince shooting daggers at Alex with eyes.

"Sampson…. It wasn't my fault… right?" Alex trembled, choking up a little, "I… was only doing what I had too… right?"

Sampson's heart sank as he watched the boy, letting out a heavy sign before placing his hand firmly on Alex's shoulder. "That whole situation… was rather messy, wasn't it?" He spoke as he brought Alex towards him, "You did what you thought was right, which isn't always easy to do. Sure, HE might not ever understand, but I do. You hear me, son?"

Alex nodded, taking a moment to breath, "Ya… I do…"

Over by Marcoh, Kat and Tara high fived one another, Tara sneaking in a quick kiss onto Kat cheek. "Nice moves out there, girlfriend."

Kat blushed, smiling at Tara before nodding, "You too… girlfriend." She couldn't help but laugh a little at this.

"Alright, Kat was it?" Marcoh came up and cuffed the black haired girl, "now its your turn."

Tara gasped in shock, "WHAT?! BUT! She's on our side now!"

"Marcoh, Tara's right," Cole stepped in, placing his hand on Kat's shoulder and looking Marcoh in the eye, "can't we make an exception?"

"Wish I could Desmond, but she broke the law," Marcoh told him sternly, looking Kat in the eye, "Of course how much time she spends, will depend on how she behaves."

"Cop guy does have a point," Kat grinned with a blush, looking at Cole with a grin, "It is the least I can do, at least for breaking your window at least." She reached herself up to kiss Cole on the cheek, "I'll be good, I promise."

Tara pointed a finger at her, "You better, else I'll have a word with you when you get out."

"Ya, I figured as much," Kat managed a laugh, looking at the two of them with a wide smirk, "you two aren't gonna replace me while I'm in the big house, are ya?"

The pair both shook their heads, "Wouldn't even think of it… just don't drop the soap, okay?" Tara sniffled, rubbing her eyes a bit.

"Just.. be safe okay?" Cole asked as he looked Kat in the eye.

Kat gulped, smiling at the two of them as a few tears began to form in her eye. "Not making any promises."

"Alright, it's time we get going," Marcoh told Kat, guiding her into the back of his patrol car.

Closing the door on her, Kat waved to both Tara and Cole with the two riders waving back to her as she was driven off. Once they were out of sight, Kat let out a heavy sigh before flopping herself down on the back seat. Her gaze drifted over to the rear view mirror, looking at Marcoh's eyes in the reflection.

"So copper," Kat spoke, choosing to make small talk to kill boredom, "what you got planned for little old me?"

"That depends," Marcoh gave her a look in the mirror, "you got any family? Someone who'll go looking for you if you go missing?"

"Not a soul," Kat shook her head, feeling her heart sink a little as she muttered her next words, "well… no one that will care, given the spot I'm now in."

"I see…" Marcoh turned his gaze back to the road, "Well, then why don't I become your family?"

Kat gave him a look, snickering a little, "Um, I think I'm a bit too young for you. Besides, I kinda got a thing going with Cole and Tara in case you missed that?"

"That's not what I meant," he shot a glare to her which soon softened into a neutral grin, "My partner and I… he and I were always thinking about adopting a girl of our own."

Kat gasped, tears running down her face as she began to choke up a bit, "Are… are you serious?"

Marcoh simply nodded, "Dead." He raised a brow at her, "So then, how about it?"

Back within the shroud of Crave's bar the Devil's Nest, Desire watched as the v marked gaia memory she held turned completely blood red. Once it was completed, she stood up from her seat and waltzed into the back room. Inside, connected to cables and other forms of life support sat a heavily scarred man. His left arm was a heavily marred stump, a mechanical prosthetic limbs connected to it as a replacement.

"The process is complete my champion," Desire told the man as she came in, holding out the memory to him as she shut off all the machines that kept him stable. "The hour for your return is now."

The man glared at her, ripping the cables from his body as he rose from his seat. He stretched himself out, bones cracking into place as he did so. "Took long enough," he smirked devious like the demon he was, "Crave served his purpose then?"

"He was the perfect pawn until the end my wrath," she told him, handing him the blood red memory, "my Fury."

"Then I will not need to hold anything back," the male gripped the memory, "not from those riders, or even Vainglory himself."

He held the memory up high then struck the activation button. "VIOLENT!"

{Insert Ending Theme: "One" by Altima}

**Next time on Kamen Rider Ultimate Xtreme**

Derek Maverick lives! And he is armed with a gaia memory filled with the violent energy sparking from the chaos surrounding Ardent City.

Do the riders stand a chance against him?

All will be decided when Kamen Rider Ultimate Xtreme continues in

**Episode 38: Fury's Violent Crusade**

_All riders! Unite and fight!_


	5. Episode 38: Fury's Violent Crusade

**Episode 38: Fury's Violent Crusade**

Sixteen years ago, Jason sat on his throne holding a photo of him and Alice. His gaze was fixed on it with a heavy glare, the male eyeing his gold wedding band that he still wore if his left ring finger.

A bit of light krept in as the two large doors at the front of the lair opened up, with Derek Maverick walking inside. The doors slammed behind him, Derek placing his hand over his chest and bowing.

"You… wanted to see me, sir?" Derek asked simply in a hushed tone.

"Fury…" Jason muttered as he turned his gaze towards his subordinate, "Fata has betrayed us." He glared towards Derek, "I can think of no one, other than you… to eliminate her."

It was a gloomy day all those years ago. Torrents of rain poured down on the city, all while a woman with chestnut hair sat by the window of a cafe staring, watching with stern yet uneasy gaze as the rain fell down around her. It was a very gloomy day.

"Alice, thank god," announced a young police officer, a smile on his face as he sat down across from her with his hands on the table. "I was scared outta my wits when I got your call. Why'd you wanna see me so quick? Has another one of those… things appeared?"

"They're called dopants, Gordon…" she spoke as she gave him a slight glance, "And… I might know more than I initially let on about them."

Gordon raised a brow, his heart beginning to race as he feared the worst. "Alice… tell me everything you know, right now."

"I can't," she shook her head, "it's not safe. Not for you, or Alex."

Gordon's heart sank. He stared at her for a very long while, his gaze drifting to the ring Alice wore on her right hand. He took in big gulp before reaching out his hand to place it overtop of hers, "Jason found out... didn't he?"

"No… at least not that I know of," Alice shook her head, "I just. We can't do this anymore."

Gordon let out a huff, looking her in the eye as he placed his hand on her shoulder, "If there's something you know you can tell me, no one else will ever know."

"Stop!" she told him firmly, looking him dead in the eye as she removed his hands from her and cupping them with both of her's. "Just stop asking questions… just listen.." she reached into her bag and pulled out two small cases, placing them both down onto the table. "These cases… I want you to keep them hidden for me, okay?"

Gordon just stared at them, feeling as though his heart was placed into a vice, "W-Why? What's in them."

Alice looked at him firmly, raising a brow, "What did I say about asking questions?"

Gordon fell silent, managing a nod. "Sorry… please, continue."

"This one," she pointed to the one case marked with a silver M on it, pulling a sealed envelope from her jacket and placing it on top of the case. "I want you to follow these instructions to the letter, do you understand Gordon?"

Gordon eyed the second one, almost afraid to ask, "Alright… but, what of the second one?"

"That's for you to keep secret and protect alongside Alex however you can, " Alice said. "You are to give it to him, only when you deem he is deserving of it… after you've followed through with all the written instructions of course."

"Hey whoa, what's all this about now?" Gordon said frantically, placing his hands on Alice's shoulder, "You sound like you're dying."

"I am dying Gordon… I least, I'm sure that I will…" Alice choked up a bit, a tear forming in her eye as she looked him in the eye on last time. She cupped his hand before swallowing sharply. "I can't see my own future… but I've seen yours, and Alex's… and I'm not in either. So I'm going to need you to protect him, and yourself, from Jason."

Gordon's heart dropped hard, his hands beginning to tremble. "Okay… I still think you're making mountains out of mole hills here… but why would Jason go after Alex? That little boy hasn't done him no harm."

"Gordon…" Alice took in a deep breath, then sharply exhaled, "Alex… isn't Jason's."

{Insert Opening Theme: "Alones" by Aqua Timez}

Present day. A red sun rose over Ardent City as Derek Maverick stood at the peer in his human form, raising a lit cigarette to his heavily scarred face as he dialed a number on an old and worn out flip phone. It wrung as he let out a puff of smoke.

"Who is this?" Rylee's voice echoed from the other end, "How did you get this number?"

"It's your old friend Fury, Spite," Derek smirked, looking down to the ground and spotted the carcass of a dead bird. "Just wanted to let you and the tin can know I'm still breathing is all."

A long pause came from the phone, Rylee speaking after a while, "You are banished Fury. If you so much as try anything, Vainglory and I won't hesitate to-"

"To what? Kill me?" he laughed, squishing the dead bird's face in with the heel of his boot, "You and the old boss already tried that, didn't work then sure as hell work now." He took another puff, kneeling down and putting his cigarette out in the bird's now empty eye socket. "I was merely giving you the courtesy of telling you, one I'm through with those shit brained riders, I'm coming for both you and the boss."

"Vainglory will not sit still after such a threat," Rylee told him with a noticeable tremble in her voice, "you know that, right?"

"Know it?" Derek's smirk widened, the scarred demon of a man letting out a fit of laughter. "I'm counting on it."

He hung up, slamming the phone closed before gripping it tightly in his fist. Winding back his arm, he chucked the phone over the docks before aiming his prosthetic arm at it with a flared out hand. A loud hum erupted from it, followed by a bright laser blast that struck the phone and blew it to bits.

Derek maintained his smirk as the junks of metal littered the lake water and the smell of smoke filled the morning air. "Six little riders all hung in a row…" he sang to himself, gripping his metal hand into a tight fist, "Fury came to kill them, the first named… Ryu-O."

Within the shadow of Vainglory's lair, Rylee closed her phone and gripped it tightly in frustration as she shot a glare of to Jason who sat at his throne. Joel leaned against one of the room's structural pillars with his hands in the pockets of his jacket, the silver haired male eyeing both Rylee and Jason.

"My lord…" she spoke after a moment, "what should we do about this?"

"I will not tolerate traitors in any form," Jason spoke thusly as he stared at the mural on the wall depicting the earth tethered between the sun and the moon with a open gate fixed to the side that faced the moon. "Fury is to be eliminated, at any cost."

Rylee simply nodded, bowing her head before placing her hand over her heart, "Yes my lord, it will be done."

"Well then, if thats what we're doing I'll go and get to deploy with the X2 Troopers," Joel said with a stretch as he headed for the door, turning back only to look Rylee in the eye, "Are you coming, Spite?"

Rylee glared at him, "And why would the both of us be needed?"

"Vainglory said at any cost, didn't he?" Joel raised a brow at her, "and I should also remind you that Fury will without a doubt be targetting those Kamen Riders as well. Or have you over looked that detail?"

Rylee gritted her teeth, looking to Jason, "My lord-"

"I am with Inertia on this one," Jason spoke over her. "Until Fury is defeated, you are to follow his command. Is that clear Spite?"

Rylee swallowed sharply, balling her hand into a fist as she glared at Joel, "As you wish… my lord."

The warm morning light filled Sampson's office at the police station, the chief sitting at his desk with Carter across from him filling out a few documents. Sampson looked to a photo of Alice and Jason on their wedding day, Jason wearing a glum face as if he wasn't really there mentally or emotionally. Sampson let out a heavy sigh, his gaze drifting to Alice's warm smile that wasn't directed at Jason but at the camera itself as if she was staring through the camera to the person who had taken the photo.

Sampson rubbed his face, grabbing the photo and putting it away in a drawer, "Never should've taken that stupid picture." He huffed to himself.

Carter paused his writing, looking up to the chief with a raised brow, "You say something?"

"Oh… nothing important…" Sampson managed a grin, eyeing the papers that Carter was working on, "How're you doing there anyway?"

"Actually, I think I'm done," Carter told him, handing the papers back to him, "what do you think? Anything I missed?"

Sampson took the papers, flipping through them as he skimmed them. After a moment he shook his head, "Looks good to me." His forced smile turned to a genuine one as he placed the papers down onto his desk. "I'm honored by the fact that you're looking to join the force, Carter, but I'd just like to ask you why. I mean, it's rather sudden isn't it? Wouldn't you rather give the matter a bit more thought?"

"It's been on my mind since we took on Gorge and Crave," Carter said, "I was a pawn once, just like that girl Kat was. I want to do all that I can to protect people from being used like that ever again, and becoming a police officer is the best way I can see to do that."

"Well then, if you're sure I guess I just have this to say," the teary eyed Sampson extended a hand to him, Carter reaching out to shake the officer's hand. "Welcome aboard, cadet."

"Let's not celebrate just yet," the normally stoic Carter actually managed a chuckle, "I still need to clear training you know."

"Oh, I'm aware," Sampson said, "You know, you remind me a lot of myself when I was your age. So full of energy." He grinned as he sat down.

Carter's grinned dropped, "Now, what about putting a stop to Vainglory and META?" his gaze narrowed.

"And, there goes that energy," Sampson's grin faded. "I have Marcoh working on that as we speak with Kat, getting all that he can out of her." He let out a sigh, pulling out a transcript dated with the night before, "He was able to take in Crave, or rather Vince I should say, last night. Of course what he got from that nut ball is… troublesome."

"What did he say?" Carter asked.

"What you'd expect, my darling sister this, that bastard Alex that," he ran his hand down the transcript until he reached one specific line. "Except for this though, 'Go ask Desire.' Now what do you gather from that?" Sampson gave the boy a look.

"A dopant," Carter returned.

"My thoughts exactly," Sampson placed his the notepad back into his desk and slammed the drawer closed. "It's not one that I'm familiar with, but whoever they are, they're surely a big deal in that underground network of theirs."

Carter thought for a moment, then raised a brow, "So, we find Desire, we find Vainglory?"

Sampson smirked, "Glad you and I are on the same page cadet." Carter was about to speak, but was cut off by the phone on Sampson's desk ringing, the caller ID matching that of the receptionist at the front of the station. "Sorry, just a moment." Sampson answered it with a grin, "What do we have Stan?"

"Hello chief," Derek's voice echoed from the other end of the line, a chill running down Sampson's spine as he felt his heart practically grind to a halt, "there is a man here looking for those pesky riders you keep on a leash, especially the one scorched his flesh to a grisp. I'll be sending him in immediately for you."

The phone clicked, beeping loudly as Derek hung it up. Sampson quickly grabbed his gun, shooting a glance over to Carter who shot to his feet and gripped his Ryu-O memory. Before the two could so much as turn around, the door to Sampson's office exploded in a violent blaze, chunks of it flying into the room as smoke quickly filled it.

Gritting his teeth, Carter hit the activation button on his gaia memory. "RYU-O!" It cried out as his driver formed around his waist.

Before he could slot the memory into place however, a concussive blast shot out from the smoke and struck Carter's hand, knocking the memory from the boy's hand and shattering several bones.

"Oh my my, did you actually think I'd let you transform little ember boy?" Derek laughed, entering the room in his human form with a smirk as Carter held his hand writhing in pain.

Sampson aimed his gun at Derek, snarling at him with a glare, "Carter! Go!" He barked, unloading several shots at Derek, the man simply standing there as the bullets cut into his face.

Carter darted to grab his gaia memory as Derek shot a glare at Sampson. "You're a lot braver than I thought," he sneered, balling his metal hand into a fist before throwing a heavy punch with it directly into Sampson's gut, knocking the wind out of him. "I'll deal with you later, so just sleep for now, chief."

Carter grabbed his memory off the floor, only for Derek to march over and press his foot down on Carter's non broken hand that the had gripped the memory with.

Carter let out a cry of agony, gritting his teeth before shooting a glare to Derek, "What .. the hell… you're supposed to bed dead!"

"Quite the contrary, Ryu-O," Derek smirked, shooting a glare at Carter, "Fury never dies." He eyes Carter free arm, grabbing it with his metal arm. "Which reminds me… I never paid you back for taking my arm way back when. Allow me to do so." With a ear shattering scream from Carter, Derek ripped Carter's arm by his broken hand right out from the socket. It was still attached, but it was beyond a simple dislocation.

Carter panted heavily, holding his arm and squirmed on the ground. "If you're going to kill me Fury, just do it!" He barked out of pain and anger.

"Oh no Ryu-O, I'm not going to kill you," Derek told him as he reached into Carter's pocket and pulled out the boy's phone, "I need you to relay a message to those friends of yours."

Carter grunted, glaring at the man, "You expect me to do that?!" He barked as Derek flipped through his phone.

"Oh no, I expect you to look out for that sister of yours," Derek glared at him, smirking as he turned to phone to a picture of Tara gawking in shock at a bird that had swiped a sandwich from her. "Or would you rather she be the first to die? The choice is yours."

Across town, Tara and Cole walked along an open market. It had gotten a little chilly as it was moving from October into November, but that didn't stop a hand full of merchants from enjoying the weather while they could.

"Hey Tara, I know it's saturday and all," Cole asked her as the wind rider happily skipped along, "but don't you have work today?"

"Eyup, but what kind of people would we be if we didn't pick up a few things to make a care package Kat?" Tara returned, looking back to him with a grin, "I wanna make sure she knows she's still loved while she's all locked up in there."

"Ya, you've got a point there," Cole grinned at her, patting her head with Tara leaning into it. "Alright, let's do it. What'd you have in mind?"

"I got a list of things Marcoh said were okay," Tara grabbed him by the sleeve, only for her phone to ring from her bag. She quickly answered, "Tara the Airborne Terror." She gasped, her eyes shooting wide open as she began to shake. Her tremble only lasted a moment however as she quickly focused her gaze and nodded. "We'll be right there, thank you."

She hung up the phone, Cole beginning to panic, "Who was that?! What's going on?!"

"Carter's hurt, we need to go to hospital," she looked to her boyfriend, "now."

Moments later, Tara and Cole found themself bolting into a hospital room. Tara met the gaze of Shiore, the ice rider gasping a bit before turning her head away from the entering couple. Tara and Cole came in, seeing Carter on the bed with his arm bandaged up and a banged up Sampson sitting beside him, Marcoh standing just beside Sampson.

"Alright, that's mostly everyone," Marcoh let out a heavy sigh.

Tara darted right to her brother's side as Cole looked around the room. "Where are Alex and Ashley?"

"I called them just after I called you and Archer," Marcoh informed them, eyeing Shiore who stood by herself in the corner, "Fubuki managed to beat the two of you here though."

Cole's gaze focused on Shiore as Tara threw her arms around her brother. "You have no idea how happy I am to see that you're alright!" She sobbed, "Who did this to you two?"

Carter looked to the officers with a steady gaze, Sampson and Marcoh looking back to him. The both of them nodded as Carter spoke, "It was Fury." The room fell silent upon hearing those words.

"He-He's alive?" The group heard a voice speak from the front of the room. They all turned to see Alex standing at the door with shaking eyes, Ashley directly behind him.

"I saw him with my own eyes Alex," Sampson spoke, "As much as I don't want to say it, Carter is tell the truth."

"He wants to fight us, Alex. All of us," Carter spoke patting his sister on the head as he shot a glare towards Alex. "He did a number on me already. So, what will you do?"

Alex thought this over in his head, about to speak before Sampson phone rang. Sampson fished out his phone, glaring at it once he saw the caller ID. "Says it's from you," he spoke, looking at Carter.

Carter sternly looked back to Sampson, "Answer it." He told the chief.

Sampson raised the phone to his ear, gritting his teeth as he did so, "Gordon Sampson, what do you want?"

"Are all those riders with you?" Derek's voice echoed from the phone.

"Yeah, each one of them," Sampson returned.

"And Xtreme… is he there too?" Derek asked.

Sampson's gaze turned to Alex, "Looking right at him."

"Put him on," Derek demanded.

Sampson gripped the phone tightly for a moment before handing it over to Alex, "He… wants to speak with-"

Alex swiped the phone from Sampson, raising it to his ear, "Tell me where you are right now Fury! Because I heard you're looking for a fight," he glanced to all the riders in the room, "Because I've got four fully charged riders standing right here all with equal reason to give you exactly what you're looking for!"

"Oh… such a temper, did what I do to those two cute girls scar you that much?!" Derek laughed, "Tell me, how much do you wish to kill me?"

Alex snarled, gripping the phone tighter in his hand, "Answer my damn question!"

"Oh… eager are we? Very well," Derek returned, "Tell me, are you somewhere high up right now?"

Alex looked out the fourth story window, examining the view it gave him of the city around him. "Yes… why?"

"Look downtown, then you'll see." Derek said.

Alex and the riders looked out the window, their hearts swelling as far off in the distance, a tall building exploded from the inside out filling the sky with fire and smoke.

"Judging by the silence, I'm guessing you saw that little show of mine," Derek cackled. "I shall give you an encore every half hour until I see you, so.. don't keep waiting." With that, Derek hung up.

With a wince, Carter grabbed at the rail of his hospital bed and began forcing himself up. All in the room gasped, save for Shiore who simply glanced at him with a raised brow.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Tara barked, forcing him back down, "You're hurt! You aren't going anywhere!"

"Yeah?" Carter spoke, holding his arm while dodging his sister's gaze. "Well a lot of people are going to end up alot worse than me if I just sit here doing nothing."

"Do as Tara says Carter," Alex spoke suddenly, looking to the fire riders with a stern gaze who in turn looked back to him, "We can handle Fury, so stay here and rest, alright?"

"But the Xtreme memory," Carter's gaze narrowed, "you can't fight in your ultimate form if I'm not there."

"Well then we'll just have to work around that," Alex returned, turning to look and Tara, Cole, Ashley and Shiore, "Fury must be stopped, at any cost."

Within the chaos of Ardent City's downtown core, civilians scattered out from the fall of debris from the destroyed building. Derek emerged from the wreckage, smirking as he aimed his robotic arm at a group of fleeing bystanders. He laughed as he primed it to fire, shooting off a large bolt of energy only for it to the neutralized by a red orb of energy that roared down from above and struck the shot from Derek's arm.

Derek snarled, glaring up to see Spite descend in her dopant form from above him with a platoon of X2 Troopers, two Star types, twenty Blast types and twenty Blade types making forty two in total. Ten of the blast troopers formed up with Spite around Fury, aiming their blasters at him as the remaining Blast Troopers formed a perimeter on the outside along with the Blade Troopers.

"Scout out the area, ensure any civilian still present makes it out unharmed," the Star trooper ordered half of the blade troopers, "No more blood is too be spilled by Fury. Now fan out!" He motioned his hand outward, the Blade troopers nodding before heading out to follow orders.

"Babysitting the worms that still cling to this rock now Spite?" Derek laughed, "The mighty have truly fallen."

"Harming the people of this city was never one of our goals Fury," Spite glared at him. She conjured six energy balls, allowing them to orbit around her, "I will say this only once. Surrender, or die."

"Very well," Derek laughed, pulling out his blood red gaia memory along with his dopant driver, slapping the slab of metal onto his waist. "Consider your challenge… accepted."

Spite took a step back on reflex, gritting her teeth before shooting her flared out hand at Derek. "Open fire!" She ordered her troops, the X2 blast troopers unloading everything they had on Derek.

Derek simply grinned as the gun fire barreled towards him, striking the activation button on his gaia memory. "VIOLENT!" roared the memory as smoke enveloped the man who held it.

The troopers stopped their barrage, waiting for the smoke to clear. They didn't need to however, as out from the wreckage barreled Fury, more demonic than ever with deep blood red armor and the claw, feet and tail of a dragon.

The dopant sneered and hissed, turning his black void of a face directly towards Spite. The blast troopers continued their fire, Spite hurling her orbs at him.

"Dammit Inertia!" Spite thought as she gritted her teeth, "Why is it you vanish right when I need you?!"

This momentary thought caused Spite to miss her mark with shots long enough for Fury to dart towards her, the fire from the Blast Troopers coming off as nothing more than an annoyance to him. Fury leapt right to Spite, readying his claws as he stared into her soul.

Spite let out a gasp and part of her life with it, it only being brought back in when two Blade Troopers bolted between her and Fury to take the force of his claws for her. The two troopers to cast to the side like mere flies at Fury's claw, a black mist exiting the demonic dopant's claw and flowing into the troopers.

"Commander Spite! Stand back!" Barked the star trooper that stuck by her side, four other blade troopers forming up around him. "We shall handle him for you."

Spite gritted her teeth, "Just apprehend him, now!" She commanded in a snarl before levitating herself up into the air.

"Consider it done," Nodded the star trooper before he along with the Blade and Blast troopers changed in to engage Fury.

In the dimly lit shroud of her mother's condo, Madison lay sprawled out on the couch stuffing her face with chips while watching an episode of Power Rangers Time Force.

A thin ray of light danced across the litter covered coffee table and towards the tv and a robot minion knocked down the blue ranger, only for that robot minion to be pulled away by his mutant boss Ransick.

"Hey! Not the blue guy!" Ransick pointed a finger at the robot, throwing him away and extending a hand to the blue ranger to help him up. "You good?" Ransick asked patting him on the shoulder, the blue ranger nodding after a moment of confusion. "Alright! Now get back in there!" Ransick cheered him on before shoving him back into the battle.

"I'm home!" A female voice called out as the door cracked open, the door closing once again after a moment.

"Hi mom!" Madison called out to her, not taking her eyes off the screen as she stuffed her face, "How was work?"

"Same hell," the tall curvy woman with Madison's eye and hair color said as she came in, throwing her leather bag on the couch while kicking off her brilliant red high heels. She wore a black suit with her red hair done up in a bun. "Ugh," she gagged, glaring at her daughter, "hey, when you have a second could you clean all this up?"

"Will do captain," Madison saluted her mother Nicole as the woman slid off her jacket.

"Did you even go to school today?" Nicole asked her.

Madison blinked, "Its saturday mom… just cause you work weekends doesn't mean I have too."

Nicole simply let out a huff, heading over to Madison on the couch and swiping the remote from her, "The least you could do is give your brain a rest from this stuff." She paused the recording and switched it over to the news.

"Hey!" Madison protested, attempting to grab the remote from her, "I was watching that!"

"You can go back to it once I check the weather," Nicole told her, holding the remote just out of her daughter's reach, "okay?"

Madison huffed, pouting with her arms crossed as the screen cut to a woman standing in front of a police line up with smoke building in the distance.

"It has been roughly an hour since the catastrophic explosion ruptured in the downtown core," the woman spoke as calmly as possible, "officials are unsure of what exactly was the cause of such destruction but many witness testimony suggests the work of one man wielding an arm mounted explosive device. We will present all further information as it becomes available."

Madison gasped, her eyes becoming fixed to the television as her mother simply let out a heartbroken sigh.

"Oh my.. what is this world coming to?" She switched the television back to Madison's show and handed her back the remote, "here, you can back to your show. I need to clean, since your father will be coming over for dinner. Think you can keep your brother busy when he gets home?"

Madison didn't answer the question, shooting up from the couch and bolting into her room to get dressed. She grabbed her wallet, her purse and her Ninja Storm red ranger key from her dresser and shoved them her pocket before taking an elastic and tying her hair back. While tying back her hair, her eyes drifted to a jewel box on her desk, the glimmer of a silver ring with a purple gemstone catching her eyes.

"Hey Alex, you said your favorite was Homura right?" Madison's voice echoed in her head, "Well I got doubles so, here. For you."

Her heart swelled, her face turning bright red as she took in a big gulp. Grabbing the ring, she slid it onto her finger and tightened her fist around it. She then, without even thinking about it, darted out from her room and head right for the door. Madison looked around for a moment, panicking as she felt the clock begin to tick further and further down.

"Looking for these?" Nicole asked, Madison turning around with a sigh of relief to see her mother standing behind her holding her pale blue sneakers.

"Thanks mom," she said, stepping towards her mother and reaching for her shoes.

Nicole glared at her, moving her arm up so the shoes were just out of Madison's reach. "You think I'm just gonna let you run out there and get hurt again, don't you?" He voice cracked, the woman clearing choking up a bit on her words.

"Mom, I'll be fine!" Madison huffed, swiping her hand to grab her shoes only for Nicole to instead grab her daughter by the wrist.

"I'M NOT STUPID! MADISON!" Nicole shouted, her hands trembling as she held her daughter's wrist, it now becoming visible to Madison that her mother's eyes were red and her cheeks were stained by tears. "You father and I… We were really scared for you that day… The Gardners were too.. We were called to the hospital to find you covered in your own blood, and they were told their daughter had vanished without a trace! And know I hear Vince was locked up for god only knows what?! Just what the hell is going on?! Tell me! For once in your life Madison, please!"

Madison's heart sank, her gaze falling down to the floor as she hung her head to avoid eye contact with her mother. "I… can't… if I did tell you, you wouldn't believe me. You never listen."

"Well I'm listening right now," Nicole glared, "so whatever it is, now the time to tell me."

"You know those monsters… in the shows I watch…" Madison swallowed hard, "They're real… and I'm pretty sure one of them is behind what we saw on tv a minute ago."

"Oh?" Nicole raised a brow, maintaining her glare, "And I'm guessing you're off to go fight it, is that it?"

Madison shook her head, finding the strength to look her mother in the eye, "The heroes the fight them are still real too though! Sure, I might not be one of them but they're all still good friends of mine! I need to make sure they're okay."

"Alright," Nicole lowered her arm, putting the shoes behind her back, "then I'm coming with you."

Madison once again shook her head, "No mom, stay here. It'll be safer."

"Then why is it ant safer for you?!" Nicole barked.

"IT ISN'T!" Madison barked back. She sighed gently, then held her mom's hand, "I'm just asking you this once, trust that I know what I'm doing… okay?"

Nicole gave her a stern look. It lasted for at least a minute before she finally let out a gentle sigh, "Alright…" she said, handing Madison her shoes, "But if you aren't back by the time your father gets her, we are going to go looking for you." She pointed a finger at her, "Got it?"

"Got it," Madison nodded, taking her shoes before hugging Nicole, "thanks mom, I love you."

"I love you too, that's why I worry so much," Nicole managed a smile of her own, hugging her daughter back for a moment before giving Madison a shove out the door, "Now get going! Before I change my mind!"

"Will do captain," Madison saluted her mother again, this time with a smile as she slipped on her shoes. She then bolted off, all looking at the silver ring on her finger. "Please Alex… don't do anything stupid until I get there."

{End of Part A}

{Start of Part B}

As Spite's forces took on Fury in the rubble of the fallen building, one of the Blade troopers that the demonic dopant had tossed away began to stir. He held his head, letting out a strained wince as he picked himself.

Opening his eyes, he gasped and began to tremble as he focused his gaze on the fallen building. Within the center of the rubble stood Spite, surrounded by forty clones of Fury. "Wh… what the hell?!" His voice quivered in fear, "What's going on?!"

"You have halted your movement, what's the problem, soldier?" He heard Vainglory's voice inside.

"Sir, Spite is surrounded," he barked into what he thought was his comlink, "Fury… he's cloned himself. He has Spite surrounded!"

"Those aren't clones soldier, Fury has infected our soldiers to turn them in copies of himself," Vainglory's voice returned, "Strike them down, and that should free them."

"Yes sir, I will," the Blade Trooper nodded, gripping his sword before beginning to charge at the clones of Fury, striking them down one by one as he made his way towards Spite at the center of the cluster.

As he had expected, the images of Fury turned back into his comrades upon each strike, a bit of black energy flowing off from his blade and into each soldier as he hit them. The troopers, once freed, rose back to their feet. "Fury has taken your comrades hostage!" Vainglory's voice echoed in the heads of each soldier as if on a loop, "Free your allies as they did you, and take down Fury at any cost!"

"Yes, my lord!" All the soldiers saluted, the eyes of their masks now blood red as they turned to the one remaining Fury. The Blade troopers gripped their swords while the Blade soldiers aimed their guns at their one remaining target.

"What hell are you all doing?!" Barked Fury in Spites voice. The sole surviving Fury conjured six of Spite's energy balls and held them above their head. "Any of you fire, and it will be the last mistake you make!"

From outside the masks of the troopers, they set their sights on Spite and Fury now stood behind them all with a smirk under the void that was his face.

"Don't listen to the words of that traitor," Fury spoke, his voice changing to Spite's in the troopers ears, "his words are as worthless as he is."

"Dammit Fury!" Spite snarled. With a strong swing of her left arm, she hurled all of her charged energy orbs at Fury. "DIE!" She roared as the orbs detonated around her target.

Fury simply stood in place, his gaze fixed upon Spite. "Sadly… I won't be the one dying today." He glared at the woman before him, raising his arm and flaring his hand out at her. "Kill her."

From atop a tall building, Joel watched coldly as the echo of laser blasts followed by the screams of his ex-wife filled the air around him.

"Sorry Spite… but sharing your fate was not part of my plan," the silver haired man let out a sigh as he turned his gaze to the glow a wail of police sirens that had been growing in the distance for a while, "not today anyway."

Five blocks away from the destruction sat a police blockade, officers standing by to defend civilians and paramedics ready in ambulances ready to evacuate the injured.

Alex and Cole roared up to the blockade on their bikes, with Shiore on the back of the X-Cyclone and Tara on the back of the Rock-Prowler. The four riders charged up to go through the police blockade but were stopped by a single officer.

"Hey, just where do you think you kids are going?" The officer told them, her gaze fixing on the lot of them. "In case you hadn't noticed, this whole area is under lockdown."

A police car drove up to the blockade, Marcoh and Ashley hopping out of it. "They're with me, they have special clearance."

"Them?" The officer scoffed, "gimme one good reason why I should let a couple of kids into a war zone?"

"Because it's those couple of kids that are gonna stop what's in there from spreading to the rest of the city," Marcoh told her with a firm glare. "Sure, they aren't exactly the heroes you'd expect, but they're all we've got and they happen to be pretty good at what they do."

The officer glared to Alex and the other riders before looking back with a scowl towards Marcoh, "And you'd bet your career on this?"

Marcoh simply nodded, "Now let them through, or I'll write you up."

The officer stepped aside, turning his gaze away from the riders, "Alright, hurry up and get going rugrats."

Alex and the other riders stepped through the line, each pulling out their base gaia memories. Kree flew down from the darkened sky, attaching to Tara's wrist as Alex pulled out his Star and Runner memories.

"So, what's the plan?" Ashley asked Alex, looking him in the eye.

"Get any civilians to safety and take out Fury," Alex returned, his gaze fixed on the destruction filled horizon, "then we all go home."

He struck the activation button of his memory, his allies following suit. "STAR! RUNNER! GALE! ROCK! YUKI! SHIFT!"

"HENSHIN!" They all cried out together, slamming their respective memories into their respective drivers as they appeared around their waists.

"STAR! RUNNER! GALE! ROCK! YUKI! SHIFT!" Cried their memories once more as they donned their rider forms in a storm of stars, wind, earth, ice and water.

The eyes of their masks illuminated brightly for a moment before they took off towards the destruction.

The officer who held doubt gawked in awe at what he had just witnessed, "No way… those kids are the… the…"

Marcoh smirked at him, "Kamen Riders," he told him as he patted him on the shoulder. "Now wipe that look off your face."

The officer nodded, "Y-Yes sir, right away sir."

As the riders charged in, their advance was watched closely by a pair of eyeballs flying through the sky with demonic wings grafted onto their backs. The images they saw were projected to Fury on the ground, still in the ruins of the building as his troopers cleaned up piles of rubble as if looking for something.

"I was wondering when those brats would show themselves," Fury laughed, watching the projection of his eyes from inside his own head. He turned to his troopers, they all looking towards him as he snapped his fingers. "Soldiers! Prepare yourselves for battle!" He barked at them, his inner smirk widening, "The main event has finally arrived."

In the dimly lit shroud of Crave's bar, the devil's nest, Desire sat in her succubus like dopant form sipping a bit of her wine as she watched the news.

"The disaster from earlier has seemed to have halted, but police operatives say the threat is still at large," the reporter said, attempting to maintain her composure, "we shall bring you further updates as they become available, however for the time being civilians are advised to remain away from the downtown core."

Desire smirked as a figure clad in deep violet armor began to emerge out from her shadow, "Is that you… Vainglory?" She cooed, turning to face the figure, his helmet fading away to reveal Jason's scowling face that was shooting a glare towards the female dopant, "It has been sometime since you came to visit me… and was begining to fear you had forgotten about me."

"Save it you witch," Jason said in a cold monotone as he stepped towards her, seven blades emerging from the shadows and aiming themselves at Desire's throat. "I had no reason to come see you, until now."

Desire chuckled, not remotely phased by the blades around her as she continued to sip her drink, "I see…" her gaze narrowed towards him, "then what do I owe such an honor?"

"I came to you with a warning," he told her firmly. "Should you get in the way of my perfect world. I will have no choice but to end you."

"You came to threaten me?" Desire laughed, "If you believe I had anything to do with the mess Fury is causing out there, the fool acted on his own. All I did was bring him back from death's door after your pet burnt him to a crisp."

"My words still stand," his blades drew closer to her throat, one cutting into her skin and drawing blood, "stand aside, or die."

"Very well…" Desire maintaining her smirk, not even flinching as she was cut, "but what will you do about Fury? Your champions and your son are already engaged with him." She raised a brow as Vainglory pulled his blades away from her.

"Inertia and Spite are more than enough to deal with that pest…" He sucked his teeth as he turned his back to her, proceeding to head back into the shadows, "and that mistake… is no son of mine."

"I see…" Desire cooed as her voiced changed in a way that made Vainglory stop in his tracks, "is that why you had me killed, Jason?"

Vainglory's entire being trembled as he slowly turned back, laying his eyes upon Desire to see that her voice and body had taken the form of his late wife. "A-Alice…" he spoke, taking in a sharp gulp before composing himself. "Why…" he turned fully towards her, balling his hands into fists, "why did you betray me Alice?!"

Alice's eyes filled with tears, the woman shaking her head as she got up and stepped towards Vainglory, "I did not betray you Jason… you, betrayed yourself…" he cooed to him sadly, cupping his cheek as her lips drew closer to his, "I love you… don't you see that…"

Vainglory continued to tremble before gritting his teeth and raising his hand to strike her, "LIAR!" He swung his arm out, Alice quickly jumping back out of the reach of Vainglory's arm.

"Well… of all the moves I expected, that is by far the worst," Alice smirked, turning back into Desire. "Though I'm curious, after back handing me what did you plan on doing next?"

"The same as always," Vainglory's helmet covered his face once more as he began to dissolve into his shadows, "I will awaited the night of the eclipse… then my perfect world shall be mine."

Once Vainglory had disappeared, Desire pulled out a box of matches, "Well then Vainglory, if that is indeed your answer… I will not be needing to anchor myself here any longer."

She took in a deep breath then released it over top of the glass of wine she had been drinking, the wine and glass shifting into a gust of fire that quickly engulfed the counter it sat upon as Desire made her way out. Taking only one look back, she smirked as the entire bar was consumed in flames.

"No matter how this all ends," Desire said as she watched the fires rise, "I will have what I seek."

Back at the hospital, the doctors finished checking Sampson over and laid him down on bed of his own. The nurses quickly left the room, with the doctor herself letting out a heavy sigh as she looked over her clipboard. As the chief was examined, Carter kept his gaze fixed out the window where the building had fallen.

"Four broken ribs… damage to the spinal column… and several other minor fractures…" the heavyset doctor told him, adjusted her thick glasses with a pale violet frame, her brown hair tied back in a long ponytail, "Haven't seen you this banged up since that incident with Greg Walker," she looked at him with a look of concern, "mind telling me just what the hell happened to you boys?"

"I… I'll tell you later, okay Pepper?" The old man smiled at her with a tear in his eye, "Once the dust has settled."

Pepper held her head, letting out a sigh"Alright, but just know that if you ever mess yourself up, and I can't put you back together… Alice would never forgive me."

"I know…" Sampson let out a heavy sigh, "I know."

"I'm gonna run these through the system," Pepper told him as she held up her clipboard, "Try not to move too much, okay?" Sampson nodded, Pepper waving to him as she left the room.

Once they were alone, Carter gripped his non-broken hand into a fist they spoke, "Chief… they're gonna be okay out there, right?"

"I… I honestly don't know," Sampson let out an even heavier sigh, looking to the boy who still gazed out the window. "I know you're worried, but Alex is out there with her… so I for one have no choice but to have faith."

"But why?" Carter gritted his teeth, "You scold him, you're always scared for his safety… so how can you still have faith? Especially when they're… them?"

Sampson sharply swallowed, "Because they're family… and the only one you and I still have."

Carter fell silent, turning his head to Sampson and looked him in the eye, "Family?"

Sampson simply nodded, "He may be a screw up, but all always be proud of him for all that he's done… good… and bad…" he continued, wiping his eyes a bit. "It's all because Alex is my family… it's because…. He's my son."

{Insert Ending Theme: "One" by Altima}

**Next time on Kamen Rider Ultimate Xtreme:**

Fury's crusade continues, while the riders fight without Carter to put a stop to his madness.

Can the hindered Xtreme pull through and end the demon once and for all?

All will be decided when Kamen Rider Ultimate Xtreme continues in:

**Episode 39: Stand As One**


	6. Episode 39: Stand As One

**Episode 39: Stand As One**

In the ruins of an old warehouse on that fateful night, Fury stood at the center of it all with Shredder at his side. They were both in their dopant forms looking down at the mangled body of Alice Darwin that lay twisted at cut up.

"You know, you didn't HAVE to mess her up the way that you did. I hardly even recognize her, the way she is now," Shredder commented, kneeling down to get a better look at the mess of flesh and hair that was once Alice's face. "Shame too, here I was hoping for some fun after we did the dead." She laughed.

Fury glared at him, "You're twisted."

"And you're the one who knew that a hired me anyway," Shredder laughed some more, eyeing the body of Alice, "so you ain't much better, are ya?"

"Just grab the memory so we can get out of here," Fury huffed, whacking Shredder on his head, "The boss wanted her body in tact, but I guess he'll accept it if we tell him it was beyond saving."

Shredder laughed as he pulled the Fata memory out from Alice's hand then handed it back to his commander, "Now who's the twisted one?"

Fury was about to speak when his attention was grabbed by a voice that cried out from the other end of the warehouse, "ALICE! Alice! Where are you?!"

Shredder gritted the teeth of his dopant form, "Great, her cop friend." The eyes on Fury's shoulder armor opened which got a laugh from Shredder, "You actually gonna fight 'em?"

"Of course not," Fury smirked under the shroud of his hood, "someone must take the fall for this crime."

Shredder gawked at him, raising a brow, "You're turning yourself in?"

Fury just stared at him before muttering, "It's been an honor, Shredder."

On the other side of the warhouse, the young Gordon Sampson darted gun in hand through old machinery and boxes before a loud and bright explosion acted as a torch to light his way. He ran down the warhouse in the direction of the loud bang of light.

"Crazy girl, almost had me worried," Sampson said as he lowered his gun, a smile coming to while he ran.

He turned the corner, his smile dropping once he saw what remained of Alice on the floor. His heart plummeted, shaking as he began to tremble before the horror that was in front of him.

"Damn…" Shredder coughed on the ground a few feet away from Sampson and Alice's remains, now the pale skinned Greg Walker with freshly buzzed hair and baggy paint covered clothes. "What the hell…"

"What the hell is right," snarled Sampson, marching towards Walker before aiming his gun right in the male's face, "What the hell's a worthless piece of shit like you doing still alive?!"

"Hey whoa!" Walker pleaded as he held his hand, "You got the wrong guy, I only-" Sampson fired his gun, taking off Walker's ear. The male shook as blood ran down his face. Walker shook, staring into the anger filled eyes of the officer that stood before him.

Sampson gritted his teeth before grabbing his radio, "I need back up, right now," he barked into it. "Get in here, before I do something I know I'll regret."

{Insert opening theme: "Alones" by Aqua Timez}

In the present day, Fury sat in the ruins of the building he had demolished on a throne pieced together from pipes, bricks and other scraps of rubble. Leaning back with his hands together, he smirked as he continued to watch the riders charge towards him from his eyes in the sky.

"The main forces should be there to greet them soon," he spoke, eyeing a trio of X2 troopers of to his side. His grin widened, noting that there was one of each type among the trio. "Let's say we increase the difficulty."

Fury extended his hand towards the troopers, a huge shroud of swirling black energy shooting off from the dopant and into the soldiers. The troopers shuttered, the trio being brought to their knees as the energy overwhelmed them and transformed them into large muscle bound demons made of flesh and metal with a single yellow eye and a mouth of jagged fangs making up the faces of each of them.

The only distinction between them were the larger muscles of the former Star trooper, the twelve barreled cannons that now protruded from the hands of the former Blast trooper's and large demonic claymore that was gripped tightly in the hand of the former blade trooper.

"Well well… lets see here… Bloodfist," Fury spoke, eyeing the muscle bound former star trooper, looking towards the former blade trooper next, "Darksaber," he announced before eyeing the snarling former blast trooper, "Hailfire."

The former star trooper, Bloodfist gave Darksaber and Hailfire a dirty look. The two fiends snarled back, Darksaber lashing its blade across the ground as Hailfire aimed its guns at Bloodfist. Fury groaned before snapping his fingers, gaining the attention of the altered troopers.

"Come now my children, behave," he laughed, giving them all a look. "I understand how thirsty for blood you are, but you should save your hunger for when we take up arms against Vainglory."

The fiends snarled at Fury, lashing their fangs and claws at him in protest.

"I know, I know. You crave for battle now," he held out his hand, a ball of fire forming in his palm with a projection of the still advancing riders inside it, "Then perhaps, I might interest you three in an appetizer?"

Snarling and licking their teeth with their tongues, the trio of alter X2 Troopers headed off in the direction of the advancing riders.

Not far off down the long city street covered in ruin, Alex and his comrades continued moving towards Fury. The five riders however came to a halt when they reached a line of X2 Blade Troopers who all stood shoulder to shoulder, gripping their swords as they stared down the riders.

"Well, that's a welcoming sight," Ashley muttered with a sigh, "looks like the rumors of Fury leaving META behind were just that."

Shiore shot a glare at Ashley, raising a brow under her mask, "And where would you hear a rumor like that?"

"From years of being one of Crave's spineless lackies," Ashley returned, "something that I am glad is behind me."

"Yeah, and besides," Tara chimed in with a shrug as she pulled out her tail feather flail, "we're still gonna whoop Fury's edgelord butt ain't we? Who cares if Vainglory's cannon fodder hooligans are backing him?"

"Tara's right," Alex chimed in, stepping forward to be at the head of the pack, "If anything, Fury working with Vainglory is only more of a reason for us to take him down."

As Alex spoke, the air became filled with the cocking and hum of several guns being primed, a force of X2 Blast troopers emerging from the rubble around the riders to close them in.

Alex gritted his teeth, Shiore in turn looking over to him, "Wishing at all you could use your ultimate form?"

Alex's voice trembled as he let out a small bit of laughter, "Just a little bit."

"You might not but we sure as hell can," Tara boasted pulling out her Hurricane memory, nudging Cole, "Right?"

Cole smirked, whipping out his own Biter Memory, "Right."

As the couple swapped out their memories, the Blast troopers opened fire upon the riders. A cloud of dust quickly formed around the rider as the ground beneath their feet was struck by laser fire making it nearly impossible to see anything.

"BITER! HURRICANE!" Roared from inside the dust cloud, the piercing glow of the blue and green visors of Tara and Cole's masks darting from out of the dust cloud and into the eyes of the troopers who were unlucky enough to see.

With a single beat from Tara's wings, she cleared the dust and debris to reveal herself in her Hurricane form bow in hand. Cole meanwhile stood in his Biter form, his gatling gun on his left arm and trail biters on his legs.

"Rocky!," Tara aimed her bow at one line of Blast troopers who were reloading their guns, the wind rider quickly drawing her bowstring back as a yellow arrow of light began to form, "return fire."

"As you wish my Hurricane," Cole returned, spinning the barrel of his gatling gun as he aimed it at the other line of blast troopers before firing along side Tara.

A quarter of the blast troopers went down upon being hit. The remaining troops dolphin dived out of the way before returning fire on Cole and Tara, the X2 Blade troopers that stood between the riders and Fury beginning to advance.

Alex's eyes narrowed upon a single X2 Star Trooper that stood behind the Blade Troopers, Alex in closing his driver and removing his Star and Runner memories in response.

"Shiore, we're gonna need a bit more power here," he said as he pulled out his Blade and Kicker memories.

A chill ran down Shiore's spine, her right arm beginning to pulse violently as the image of her Shira form entered her mind.

"We're only fighting foot soldiers," Shiore tightly gripped her arm with a hint of a growl, "I refuse to waste such power on them."

"Find, have it your way," Ashley scoffed, looking to Alex who was reopening his driver, "what's the plan boss?"

"BLADE!" KICKER!" roared his driver as the red on the boy's armor changed to green, the short sword Bla-Jalibur forming in his arm and pointed metal blades forming on the tips of his feet.

"Clear the trash, and get to Fury," Alex restated, gripping his sword with both his hands as the blade troopers drew closer, "we are not letting a single one of these things through."

On the other side of town, Madison stood shoulder to shoulder with a swarm of other people on a train that ran underground. She had her headphones in, tapping her foot in an ever quickening pace all scanning her eyes over the southbound subway map. The train reached a station, Madison getting out of the way to allow other people to shuffle by as the doors opened.

"They'll have to face the weather, Ninja Storm, stand together," she muttered along with her music before letting out a groan, looking out the subway door to try and see why they hadn't moved yet, "What the hell is going on?!"

A loud chime echoed through the station, Madison pulling out of her earbuds as a voice came over the intercom. "Due to ongoing issues at all further station, all southbound passengers are here by asked to disembark. We apologize for the inconvenience and look forward to your continued patronage."

Madison huffed, heading over a map on the platform. She placed her finger on her current stop, then moved it down five stations on the map, her hand stopping when she hit a station named Fision at the very bottom.

"Looks like I'm gonna need to hoof it," Madison, quickly moving to the stations elevator only for her jaw to drop when she saw it was roped off with an out of order sign taped to the doors. "OH COME ON!" She groaned for a moment then let out a tired sigh. "Looks like I really am hoofing it."

Madison quickly ran down the platform of the station, hoping up one flight of stairs in the blink of an eye. She was about to do the same with the next flight only for a sudden shout to catch her attention.

"WATCH OUT!" Cried an older man from above as a fully loaded cart barroled down the stairs directly at Madison.

Madison gasped for a moment as the cart drew closer to hitting her, however it didn't run her over. The seemingly frail girl instead caught it by the front, holding it up with only a mere wince as if it was a mild burden on her frame.

"Oh my gosh Miss! Are you alright!" Cried the older male from above. He was of a darker complexion, in his mid forties by the looks of things. "I am so sorry!"

"Don't worry about, was heading that way anyway," Madison laughed, her biceps flexing under the weight of the cart revealing she was surprisingly lean for a girl who hours ago was stuffing her face while watching tv. "Here, I'll come to you!"

The male watched in awe as Madison climbed up the stairs with little effort, a heavy sigh of relief escaping her lips as placed the cart down upon reaching the top.

"Oh my," the male clapped as he smiled at her. "You're a lot stronger than I gave you credit for. Say, would you happen to be looking for a boyfriend?"

Madison's face turned bright red, shaking her head, "Sir… I think I'm a little young for you."

The male stared at her, then he started to laugh, "Oh my, heavens no. I was asking for my son actually. He likes pretty girls who are a bit on the lean side."

Madison let out a sigh of relief, her face returning to its normal pigment as she managed a grin. "Sir, I'm flattered that you think your son would be interested in me, but my current relationship status is, well to put it simply… complicated. I'm sure he's a charming fella, but I'm going to have to decline the offer, sorry."

"Complicated?" The male raised a brow at her, "You telling me you have someone in your life, and they aren't trying to sweep you off your feet at every possible moment?"

Madison's smile faded a bit, the girl feeling her heart swell, "Well… sort of, I think…" she gulped, "Like I said, it's complicated."

"Well, if it's ever not complicated and you're looking for a someone," the male pulled out a scrap of paper and a pen, jotting down a few numbers before handing it over to Madison , "Give my boy a call, I'm sure he'd love to hear from you."

Madison took the paper, read it over once then looked to the man with another sharp gulp. "Thank you sir…I'll keep this in mind," she bowed as she shoved the paper safely into her pocket. "I have to go."

Madison took off in a hurry down the road, gripping the silver ring that she still wore on her finger. The older male watched with a grin.

"Such a pure soul," the male said softly as his eyes flickered a pierce shade of yellow for a moment before returning to their original hazel color. "An enigma like her shall certainly alter the hands of fate."

Back in the battle, Shiore drove her blade hard through the driver of the final Blade Trooper, Alex and Ashley doing the same to the Star Trooper that lead the pack. The troopers that once opposed them now laid on the ground as men and women in suits. A sickly black aura rose from them all, merging together in the ar darting down the street past the riders.

Alex gripped his sword, narrowing his gaze down the road, "Guess that's our path."

He took one step forward, but did not move further as the altered muscle bound trooper Bloodfist dropped down from the sky and set its sights upon Alex, snarling while licking its teeth.

"What! In Stan Lee's bonet! Is that!" Tara barked, her jaw dropping as a result of witnessing the fiend that stood before her.

A loud hum roared through the air as several large laser blasts roared down towards Tara, the wind rider quickly dodging them and aiming her bow in the air where they came from.

"Not on my watch! You freak!" She gritted her teeth as she took in the sight of Hailfire, clinging to the side of a building with its feet while unloading a barrage of explosive blasts where Tara had been standing below.

Hailfire, after its expulsion of ammo, halted its barrage. Its hand mounted gun were smoking hot, the fiend snarling as it glared at Tara. Leaping from one building to another, it began making its way down the left most side street off the path the riders had been proceeding down.

"Oh you aren't getting away that easy!" Tara roared, gunning down the road after it, taking to the air after a moment of sprinting.

"Tara!" Alex barked, "Where are you-"

"Not a single one get through! Tara barked back as she continued to chase after Hailfire, "That's what you said right?"

"Yeah but!" Alex persisted but by the time he did, Tara was already out of ear shot.

"I'll watch her back, we'll meet up later!" Cole told Alex before speeding off after Tara on his trail biters.

"You better!" Alex called to Cole as loud as he could, hoping his friend heard him. His gaze then fixed itself once again on Bloodfist who was flexing its muscles and cracking its neck.

"Its three on one," Ashley stated, her and Shiore stepping into a line formation with Alex to stare down Bloodfist.

Suddenly, a loud scraping noise barreled its way through the air. Shiore quickly turning, sword raised, to block an oncoming dark blur that drove her into a nearby building.

"SHIORE!" Alex cried out, taking his gaze off Bloodfist for a moment only for the fiend to dart forward and deliver a heavy uppercut into his gut.

"Come now, she's a strong girl she can handle herself," Bloodfist cackled as its face turned into that Fury's violent form, "you on the other hand, that's still up for debate." He sneered, tossing the winded Alex into Ashley, "And to correct you, I do believe it's now two on one."

From his bed in the hospital, Carter watched as more explosions roared up from downtown. The young man felt his heart sink, taking in a big gulp as his hands began to shake.

"You know you're an insanely lucky old man, right?" Pepper told Sampson as she read off his papers from his bedside. "Sure, it's pretty bad right now, but nothing seems to be broken that can't be fixed with a little bit of rest and patience."

"Looks like I've still got an angel looking out for me," Sampson couldn't help but smile and laugh a bit. "It helps me sleep a bit easy though, thinking she's watching over me and Alex."

"Which reminds me," Pepper eyed Sampson, "I never really understood how it happened… mind telling me?"

"You read the report," Sampson spoke simply, his smile fading. "Greg Walker, remember?"

"You and I both know I wouldn't ask you to talk about that," she glared at him. "I wanna know how to honest souls went and did… what you two did."

Sampson took in a deep breath then exhaled, "The short version… Jason, her husband… he was, and mostly still is, a prick." He looked Pepper in the eye. "My meeting with Alice, and the appearance of the dopants, are in my mind one and the same. I didn't question when she was assigned to my unit, but I will never forget that smile of hers. Course she was taken, and clearly loved her husband more than anything."

"Which re-asks the question," Pepper raised a brow, "why cheat?"

"I mentioned he was a prick, right?" Sampson told her with another raised brow. "We had just finished a job, and she offered to buy me a coffee…" he sharply swallowed, a tear coming to his eye. "Then suddenly, she asked me if I was as lonely as she was. She started to cry… cursing Jason's name… and then I…. I kissed her."

Pepper's eyes shot open in shock, "And… what did she do?"

Sampson held his head, managing an almost sad laugh, "She returned it… one thing lead to another… and then, before I knew it, Alex was born and then she was killed."

"Have you told him?" Carter spoke up, catching the attention of both Sampson and Pepper.

Sampson paused the shook his head, "No… No I didn't."

"Why not?" Carter asked, keeping his gaze fixed on the city in the distance.

"Because I… I wanted to protect him," Sampson spoke in an unsteady tone. "I wanted to protected him in the same way she did. I'll do anything to make sure that boy is safe… Then again, that's rather all for not at this point."

"No…" Carter spoke simply, pulling his dislocated arm out from the sling that held it, grabbing the part that was broken with his working arm, "it- isn't."

Sampson and Pepper both gasped in shock as Carter, gritting his teeth to swallow the pain, began to force his dislocated arm back into the socket.

"GAHHA!" Cried the young man, Pepper shooting up to her feet and marching over to him.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!" she demanding, going to grab Carter to restrain him only to be halted by a simple look from the young man.

"I'm not going to sit around here doing nothing, not while there are people who need me." Carter told her, wincing ever so slightly as his arm popped back into where it was meant to be. He jumped out from his bed, pulling out his gaia memory and striking the activation button.

"RYU-O!" Cried the memory as his driver formed around his waist.

"Wait! You're hand is still broken!" Pepper told him.

"A weakness I'll just have to protect," Carter told her before eyeing Sampson, "right?"

"If you're going, then go," Sampson told him with a stern look, "Just don't do anything you'll regret."

"I won't," Carter told him, opening a window and climbing out of it.

He slammed his memory into his driver and gave it a quick spin, "RYU-O!" roared his driver, the young man kicking off the outside of the hospital as his armor formed around him. Within seconds, he was airborne and heading downtown.

Pepper huffed, glaring at Sampson, "Why let him go?! He's just gonna end up back here in worse shape."

"No he won't," Sampson laughed, "I know that much for sure."

Pepper raised a brow at him, "and what makes you so sure?"

"Cause that boy's like a phoenix," Sampson told her, "He might get burnt to a crisp now and again, but he'll keep rising from the ashes stronger and wiser than before. That's just the kinda guy he is"

Back in the center of the fork in the road, Bloodfist with the face of Fury grabbed the winded Alex by his waist and hurled him at a concrete wall. Alex however was quick on his feet, and pulled the Blade memory from his belt and replaced it with Blast.

"BLAST! KICKER!' Cried the driver as Alex reset it, the top half of his armor turning blue and his Bla-jalibur shifting into the form of his blue pistol the Corona Blaster.

Aiming it at a lamp post, Alex fired off a grappling hook at it and pulled himself towards it, landing safely on the ground before staring down Bloodfist once again.

"Lovely trick," Bloodfist laughed in Fury's voice, his fists beginning to glow bright red like the inside of an active forge, "shame I'll be dropping the curtains on you."

Bloodfist slashed its claws at Alex, hurling a barrage of red hot energy blades at the boy. The rider didn't budge however, his gaze simply narrowing at the blades as he pulled his Kicker Memory from his driver and replaced it with Diver.

"BLAST! DIVER!" his belt cried out as the bottom half of his suit turned deep teal with fins on the sids of his boots.

Flipping his gun around, Alex fired off a clip of water blasts at Bloodfist, dissolving the hot blades they struck while on course to their target. Bloodfist, while gritting its teeth, jumped out of the way and landed along feet away from Alex.

"YOU MISSED YOU FOOLISH BOY!" it barked, again in Fury's voice.

"So you think," Alex said with an unflinching glare.

Bloodfist looked back over its shoulder to where he was before, a torrent of water rushing towards it and ensnaring him within it all while under Ashley's control. Guiding Bloodfist to the ground, she bound him with the water and formed it into chains that allowed Bloodfist to have only its head free.

"So, Fury was it?" Ashley asked, violently grabbing Bloodfist by the face and forcing it to look her in the eye. "Just how much of you is there?"

"I am in control of this fiend, but the fiend is not me. Whatever you do, I will not feel a thing." Fury laughed right in Ashley's face, "You fools better face facts. You're all powerless against all of me."

"Oh yeah? Then lets run those numbers.." Ashley pointed to Alex, "but then there's him, mr power house himself. Ryu-O, who last I recall hacked off your arm and set you a blaze last time you met, there's also the ice queen who I'm not even gonna begin to get into her issues and the walking weapons depo moe valkyrie power couple." The water coiled tighter around Bloodfist, slamming its face into the dirt, "and then Fury, there's you who has managed to piss off every last one of them."

Fury gritted Bloodfist's teeth, glaring through his fiend's eyes. "You mock me! I will destroy you! Then I shall become a god!"

"Or you could face facts Fury," Alex glared at the fiend on the ground. "There isn't anything special about you. You're just another asshole, and you'll be taken down just like the rest of them."

Fury made Bloodfist laughed, "I'd love to see you try."

With a snap of Fury's finger, the aura from Bloodfist rose out from him leaving nothing but a young boy withered and lifeless in the rubble. The aura itself shot down the road.

Alex kept his gaze fixed on the aura, tightening his fist, "So… that's where Fury is hiding."

Ashley meanwhile, couldn't help but have her heart swell, "So young…" her eyes looked to Alex, "What… what do you plan do, after we finish off Fury?"

"Once we're done with Fury, I'll be going after Vainglory…. My father," He turned back to look Ashley in the eye. "I'm not going to force you into it, but it will mean the world to have you by my side."

Ashley stepped forward, placing her hand on his shoulder and looking him in the eye, "Don't worry, I will be."

Outside the police blockade, Madison darted down the street at an unsteady pace, breathing heavier and heavier the longer she kept running. Her test of endurance was about to end however, as she soon neared the blockade where Marcoh was still standing with his eyes fixed on a GMR scanner. The scanner showed roughly the positions of Fury, his fiendish soldiers, and each of the riders in relation to Fury himself.

"They're splitting up? What the hell are they doing in there," Marcoh gritted his teeth while pulling out a pack of cigarettes. He gasped, jumping a bit when he saw Madison. "Ms Tyler? What are you doing here?"

"Something stupid by the looks of things," Madison told him firmly, walking up to him and looking in the eye. "I… I need you to let me through."

"Absolutely not," Marcoh told her, offering her a smoke after he had pulled one out for himself. "If I were to let you in there, what do you think Darwin, Haze or anyone else would say?"

"Nothing good?" Madison gulped, holding her open hand up and shaking her head in decline of Marcoh's offer. She refocused her gaze on the clouds of black smoke in the distance. "They're in there… aren't they? Who are they up against this time?"

Marcoh stared at Madison for a good long while. Only after lighting it and taking a big hit from it, did the officer finally come out with it. "Fury."

Madison's heartbeat grinded to a halt, the memory of Reptilian's tail plunging through her gut causing her body to tremble. "He… he's still alive? Why?"

Marcoh fell silent, eyeing the girl as he struggled to find the right answer. He stood there, placing his hand on her shoulder for a good long while before finally opening his mouth to speak. He didn't get to a single word however as, with a loud screeching wale of an alarm, his GMR scanner went off in his hand.

"What the hell?" He gasped, looking to the screen to see an unidentified dot rushing towards their position from behind.

The officers and Madison quickly turned to catch Ryu-O in mid flight roar past them.

An earth shattering rush of wind followed close behind Ryu-O which shattered every window on every police car, setting off all their alarms as the red rider broke through the sound barrier.

"Who the hell was that psycho?!" Coughed an officer as he picked himself off the ground, "Is freaking Ironman in on this now?!"

"Relax, that isn't any comic book hero," Marcoh told the officer, grabbing his radio, "it's another one of ours. Codename, Ryu-O."

"Ryu-O…" Madison muttered in awe, "so cool…"

In mid flight, Carter switched on the thermal scanners of his mask to see various heat scanners. Two clusters of three where what he saw instantly, his mask quickly picking up another pair of signatures before finally locking on to one off on its own.

"You're certainly showing up late," Marcoh's voice came in through the com-link in Carter's helmet.

"Give me all you have Maroch," Carter ordered, "I need to get to Thea, so where is she?"

"Knowing her, she'd be with Desmond," Marcoh informed him, "but we have one rider off on their own. We should focus on backing them up."

"I will, but only after I make sure Thea is safe," Carter informed the officer.

"TARA can handle herself if she has Desmond backing her," Marcoh quickly returned, "we need to focus on leveling the-"

Marcoh was cut off by Carter switching off his comlink. "Sorry Marcoh, Thea comes first." He said before boosting up the power of his thrusters, speeding faster towards the cluster of three heat signatures he saw via his HUD.

On the ground with Hailfire, Tara and Cole evaded his shots one after the other. With a leap and a flip, Tara fired off a pair of arrows of light only for them to be shot from the sky by Hailfire's rounds. Cole attempted the same with the gatling gun on his arm and shoulder mounted missile pods, but garnered the same result.

Gritting his teeth, Cole darted for cover behind a flipped over car where Tara quickly joined him.

"Damn, that thing just shoots down whatever we throw at him," Cole panted, giving his guns a chance to cool down.

"It's those damn guns, they're like a shield they way its using them!" Tara barked, her and Cole quickly jumping out of the way as the car they were using for cover was blown to bits.

Tara snarled as her gaze returned to Hailfire, her wings keeping her airborne while Cole was locked to the ground due to his heavy armor and weapons.

"The two of you may as well accept it," Hailfire cackled in Fury's voice, aiming its guns at the both of them. "You are as useful to me as you are in every other instance. All you ever do is just stand there! While you're friends do most of th-"

Hailfire's rant was cut off by the growing roar of what sounded like a jet engine. The fiend turned his head, gasping once it saw Ryu-O gunning towards him like a bullet through the air. With a snap of his finger and burst of fire, Carter conjured his buster sword and drove it through both of Hailfire's hand mounted guns, slicing off every barrel except one on each faster than the eye could see.

Hailfire trembled as Ryu-O landed on the other side of him. Fury moved Hailfire and laughed, "Well well, look who is here to prove me right!"

"I'm only here to level the playing field," Carter spoke, eyeing Cole and his sister, "Cole! Tara! He's all yours!"

With that, Carter kicked off the ground and took to the air once again. Tara meanwhile was frozen for a moment as a result of hearing her brothers word. She smirk appearing under her mask after her slight pause, pulling back on her bow once again to form yet another arrow.

"Rocky!" She called down to Cole, "Kill him dead!"

Cole smirked alongside, priming his guns as he aimed them at Hailfire. The fiend in Fury's voice snarled.

"What is wrong with the two of you! You have no flaws at all!" Hailfire barked at them, "You can't even be considered remotely human!"

"Hey dipstick, of course we have flaws," Cole told him, rushing towards him on his trail biters, "that's just the cost of being alive."

"The dif with us is simple," Tara stared the fiend down, "we don't beat ourselves over our faults, and we don't use the ones we find in others to rip them apart either."

Hailfire snarled, then laughed, "You expect me to buy that load of bull?"

"We don't need you to," Cole said. He and Tara opened fire upon the fiend, the fiend exploding into a large burst of smoke and fire.

As the debris cleared, a withered woman laid on the were Hailfire once was. Tara's heart sank, kneeling down to close the woman's tormented eyes.

"Be at peace… you poor soul…" she muttered softly.

As she let out a deep breath, an orb of Fury's aura rose out from her and rushed past them. It darted down the road, rushing past Cole who followed it with his eyes. Cole jumped from the aura's sudden movement but turned himself back to Tara.

"Tara?!" He barked, panting heavily.

Tara looked him in the eyes, he gaze as sharp as an eagle swiping a fish from the maw of a shark. "Follow it."

Swords clashed in the fallen corridors of one of the ruined buildings, an image of Kamen Rider Yuki darting at Darksaber only for the fiend to slice it clean in half. The fiend snarled, looking from side to side as it sniffed the air. From the exposed rafters, Shiore stared down at the fiend in her base rider form. She gripped the Shira memory, her right arm continuing to pulse violently at the thought of using.

"You cannot hide yourself forever snow girl!" Darksaber barked in Fury's voice, "This would be over sooner if you just fight you know! I promise to make it painless!"

Shiore focused her gaze at Darksaber, gripping her sword while slipping the Shira memory back onto her belt. She moved her feet to stand, only to instead shift a stray piece of rubble causing it to fall to the floor before. Shiore gasped, gritting her teeth as Darksaber turned on his heel and lept towards her.

Shiore jumped back, the two meeting in a clash with Darksaber staring into her soul. "I was wondering when I would find the real you." It laughed, eyeing the far more powerful memory on the girl's belt, "Though now one question remains… why not face me with that sword?"

Shiore snarled, breaking the clash with a strong swing of her blade to knock Darksaber away. "I don't need it to defeat you, that's just fact." She panted heavier and heavier as the battle continued.

"Oh, now I see…" Darksaber laughed, "you're scared of it, aren't you? Scared it will reject you, just like the others. Those kids you call your friends-"

Darksaber was cut off by a kunai that whipped past its cheek, exploding the moment it hit the wall. Darksaber danced around the explosion, laughing when he landed on the other side of Shiore.

"Touchie…" Darksaber cooed, "but with a reaction like that, it only proves that I'm right."

Shiore gripped her sword tighter. "Leave me-" she growled, turning to Darksaber with a heavy swing to its throat, "ALONE!"

"But you are alone," Darksaber smirked, evaporating into a cloud of smoke as Shiore's blade cut into him, "you always have been." Its voice repeated, this time from within Shiore's head.

The white rider shuttered, her entire being beginning to tremble. Her eyes darted across the room, her gaze locking onto her waist with a gasp as Darksaber's shadowing claw reached from the either towards Shira Memory, pumping in a cloud of its dark aura into it. Shiore jumped back, gripping the Shira memory tight before pulling it from her belt.

"If you want this so badly," Shiore glared at the fiend, returning to her feet as she aimed her blade at it, "come and claim it!"

"Silly girl, the memory means little to me," Darksaber told her, its face shifting to that of Fury's as he stood before a still stable door. "My former master has had her eye on you for some time now. Its you I plan to claim. First as a pawn, then if you survive, I will make you my bride."

Shiore narrowed her gaze at Darksaber, "Not even in hell!"

Fury shook Darksaber's head, "So unwise…" he raised Darksaber's sword, "no matter-"

Before Fury puppeting Darksaber could so much as move, the door behind it blew itself open in a sudden burst of fire. The Ryu-O Buster sliced its way through the fire and the flames, cutting down Darksaber as carter himself emerged from the chaos.

Shiore's eyes shoot open, the setting changing in her mind to Ryu-O standing in an traditional japanese house and an elder male with Shiore's hair and eye color at Ryu-O's feet.

"Shiore… Run…." The man's words echoed in mind.

"Yuki!" Carter barked at her, snapping the girl back to reality as he grabbed Darksaber by its throat and pinned him to the wall. "We're ending this, now." He said firmly before pulling out his Phoenix memory.

"Phoenix!" Roared the memory as Carter struck the activation button and slammed it into his driver. "Phoenix!" The memory roared once again, his regal emperor style armor appearing in a burst of flame with his buster sword becoming a claymore with red wings on the guard.

As the fight between Carter and Darksaber raged on, Shiore stared at the Shira Memory in her hand. With a tightening of her grip on the memory, she removed her Yuki memory from her driver and replaced it with Shira, slamming it into the active position with a quick motion of her hand.

"SHIRA! SHIRA!" Cried the memory, a blizzard roaring over Shiore to switch her into her stronger form, her twin chain linked swords forming in her hands. "SHIIIRA!"

As the blizzard dispersed, the eye of Shiore's wolf head shaped driver flickered a deep purple. The eyes of her mask flickered the same color as Shiore glanced down at the moon encased in a triforce seal on her chest, breathing heavily as she noted that the moon was almost full. Gritting her teeth, she re-focused her gaze upon the wall opposite her to see Ryu-O pinned the to it by Darksaber.

Ryu-O gasped for air, reaching a hand out to the other rider, "Shiore! Help me!" He pleaded weakly.

Darksaber gripped Ryu-O's throat, "Why would she ever help you? Especially after what you've done." The fiend snarled as throwing the rider to the ground, turning its gaze to Shiore, "Yuki! Get over here already!"

Shiore sucked her teeth, "So that's your play? Is it?"" She muttered to herself.

She slipped her swords into one hand and pulled out a pair of kunai with the other, all while she made her way over to the conflicting pair. Placing her feet down firmly on the ground, she tossed the kunai at Ryu-O pinning him to the ground.

"Shiore! What are you doing!" Ryu-O barked on the ground, "Fury, he turned you against me! Didn't he-"

"Shut your mouth," Shiore glared at the rider on the floor, aiming her sword at him, "Fury."

Ryu-O stared at Shiore, snapping his fingers to remove the aura around Shiore's eyes. With that, he revealed itself to be Darksaber while the true Ryu-O stood beside Shiore.

"So, what gave it away?" Darksaber asked in Fury's voice.

"My name firstly, Ryu-O has never used it," Shiore told him in a cold tone. "second… the way you begged. It's hardly his manor while fighting."

Fury made Darksaber laugh, its body beginning to fade. "Well then, show me how the two of you fight for real then. I'll be waiting."

A black aura shot out from Darksaber, leaving nothing but a shriveled man in a suit behind as it shot out from the building. Carter knelt down and looked for a pulse.

"He's… he's dead…" Carter spoke as his heart sank.

"And more will be, if we do not stop Fury," Shiore told him as she went to the door, stopping only to take a look back to the other rider, "coming?"

Carter nodded, placing a tracker on the dead man so someone could find his body before following after Shiore.

"This is Carter, calling all riders," Carter spoke into his communicator on the way out, "Everybody still alive out there?"

"Whoa! Hi!" Ashley spoke suddenly, "Would've been nice to know my suit had this hours ago!"

"Yeah, it's kind of an undocumented feature," Tara chimed in, "Totally not at all like they just suddenly appeared out of convenience or anything!"

"Cole here," the rock rider spoke, "thanks for the assist back there Carter. We owe you."

"Carter?" Alex questioned, "aren't you supposed to be in the hospital?"

"I checked out early," Carter told him, "while I have you all, how do we plan to get rid of Fury? He'll be expecting a brute force attack."

"I have an idea… but it's kinda risky," Alex said, "and I'm gonna need everyone."

Carter took note of this, his gaze narrowing upon the speaker of his comlink, "I'm listening."

Fury stood in the rumble of the building he had destroyed, the three orbs of his aura circling around him as he stared with a smirk down the road where he predicted the riders would come down.

"The bait is set, now we await the fish," Fury sneered. The bitter patter of footsteps caught his ear, but not from in front of him. He cocked a brow, looking to the left of him as a Shira form Kamen Rider Yuki darted up towards him with her swords drawn. As Shira-Yuki swung her swords, Fury took one step back and caught them both with his claw.

"You rush in alone?" Fury scoffed, crushing Shira-Yuki's blades in his grip, "that is possibly the worst move you could have chosen."

"Correction Fury," Shiore's voice echoed from the rider that stood before Fury, a glimmer flickering from above Shira-Yuki's shoulder, "it is you who is alone."

From that glimmer came a blinding armor of light that struck Shira-Yuki and shattered her into ice.

"A clone?!" Fury snarled as the ice shards swirled around his claws, his eyes darting from side to side, "Come on out my little snow bunny! I'm looking to play with you some more!"

The ice shards turned to water, the water shifting into chains that constricted around Fury's arms and pulled him to the ground. Fury gritted his teeth while he pulled his arm against the pull of the chains, laughing like a mad man as his eyes frantically shifted around various spots of his self made arena.

"YOU'RE FOOLS IF YOU THINK KEEPING YOUR DISTANCE WILL SAVE YOU!" He roared, "EVEN MORE SO IF YOU EXPECT A BIT OF WATER TO HOLD ME!"

The ever confident Fury was beginning to tremble, this was not how he expected things to play out. Four fire hydrants broke open, Fury jumping back while beginning to sweat as four rushing geysers rose up from the hydrants along with the bursting of a sewer grate.

"A little water won't hold you?" Shift's voice echoed from the depths below, rising from the grate in a pillar of rushing water. She glared at Fury, the eyes of her mask illuminating as she aimed her warglaives at him. "Then how about I give you a lot of it?"

With a flick of her wrist, Ashley sent all the water she had collected hurling at Fury. Landing on the ground once Fury had been crushed beneath it, she looking over her shoulder while keeping her hands fixed on the water.

"BOYS! YOU'RE UP!" She barked, Cole rushing by her on his Trail Biters and wrist mounted laser swords extended.

Slashing apart a pair of street signs, Cole bent the steel poles in his hands while rushing over to Fury. Ashley parted the water long enough for Cole to drive the bent poles over Fury and into the ground to further bind him, Carter flying above and welding the poles to the ground with a series of concentrated blasts from his hands. Once Fury was secured, Cole rushed back to Ashley as she re-submerged Fury.

"How much time do you think that's bought us?" Cole panted heavily, Carter flying down on the other side of Ashley.

"Probably-" Ashley grunted from the strain of holding Fury, "five seconds?"

"Then we need to move fast," Shiore declared, moving so fast that it was as if she just appeared beside Cole. Tara meanwhile dove down to land beside Carter.

"Then we better move faster than that," Tara declared, calling out behind her. "SUPERSTAR! I'D RUN FOR HOME IF I WERE YOU!"

"STAR! RUNNER!" Roared Alex's driver as he rushed past the other riders in a blur towards Fury, the Xtreme Memory coming down from above and connecting to his driver in the process. "XTREEEEME!" Cried the memory as Alex ascended into his Ultimate form.

"Now Fury!" He closed the Xtreme memory on his belt, preparing to re-open it for his Maximum Drive, "Your rampage-"

Before Alex could make his mark however, all three of Fury's orbs rushes into his body beneath the water. The water turned black, deep violet energy boiling to the surface which sent the black sludge hurling towards all the riders and knocking them all to ground, breaking their formation and Alex's attack.

"Clevver trick," Fury laughed as he emerged from the black ooze, more demonic than before with the wings and tail of a dragon protruding from his body, "but your magic of friendship, heart of the cards act?" He sneered at Alex, kicking him in the gut, "Face facts, you think I'm not special? Well you aren't either, you're just another pebble beneath my foot."

Fury went to pull his foot back but found that he couldn't as Alex was now holding on to it and staring Fury dead in the eye.

"You're right… I'm not…" he grunted as he rose to his feet, delivering a hard uppercut to Fury's jaw, "I'm just the pebble… that broke your giant foot…" He declared, pulling X-Calibur from his chest as his body began to glow in a white aura.

Fury's entire being began to tremble."W-What the hell is going on?! What the hell are you?!"

"HE'S SUPERSTAR! ASSHOLE!" Tara barked at him, gritting her teeth as she forced herself to stand up, "AND HE IS SUPER PISSED AT YOU!" As she stood, a bright yellow aura began to erupt from her in the same rhythm as the one that surrounded Alex.

"Him?... Pissed at me?" Fury's lip twitched into a smirk, regaining a sliver of his charisma. "Perfect, let the master of wrath feel yours boy!"

"Master of wrath?" Shiore scoffed, glaring at Fury a she rose to her own feet as a pale blue aura surrounded her. "I'd say it's high time you felt the wrath of someone other than yourself."

Ashley felt an air dread wash over her, taking a step forward only for Carter to step forward and put his arm in front of her. A bright red aura surrounded him already.

"This is Alex's fight," Carter told her, "unless it takes a turn for the worse, we shouldn't interfere."

Ashley glaring at Carter, her heartbeat racing as she gripped her warglaives, "Are you nuts? He's going to kill him!"

"Have faith," Cole told her, a green aura erupting from him. He patted Ashley on the shoulder as he looked to Alex staring down Fury. "You did so before, didn't you?

Ashley took in a deep breath, then called out, "ALEX! KICK HIS ASS!"

Alex narrowed his gaze upon Fury, raising his sword high. The moment his arm was fully extended, his aura shot out from the hilt of his blade and grabbed the Gale, Rock, Yuki and Ryu-O from their respective riders. Upon his aura retracting, each memory was placed into a slot on the hilt, Alex's own Star Memory being placed at the top of the handle.

"GALE! MEMORY CHARGE! ROCK! MEMORY CHARGE! YUKI! MEMORY CHARGE! RYU-O! MEMORY CHARGE!" Screamed X-Calibur, the blade phasing back into Alex's body as Gale's wing extended from his shoulders, Rock's armor formed onto his shins, Yuki's claws extended from his wrists and Ryu-O's fire blasters activated in the palms of his hands.

Fury snarled, baring his claws at the new Xtreme that stood before him, "Now what in sweet hell are you?!"

"We are Xtreme-" Alex spoke, the voices of the other riders echoing out along with his, "United."

Flaring out his hand at Fury, Xtreme blasted Fury back with a powerful fire blast before darting up to him using his wings. Fury couldn't so much as react as Xtreme grabbed him with his claws and took him high into the air, releasing him mid flight before kicking him right into the top floor of a building.

Tara who still stood on the ground with the other riders, let out a whistle and patted Ashley on the back, "I…. I see why you needed to jump on that."

Ashley's eyes shot open, jabbing Cole in the side, "Alex told you?! And you told Tara?!"

Cole winced slightly, holding his chest, "Yeah, sorry about that."

Ashley glared at him, "Does Madison know?"

Cole shook his head, "Not unless Alex told her."

Ashley let out a sigh, her heart sinking as she looked back up to Xtreme in the sky above. "Then there's one less thing I need to worry about…" she muttered to herself as she watched Xtreme dive into the building after Fury.

Pulling him out from the rubble and clutter of the destroyed office he was just thrown into, Fury winced and groaned. His smirk and chuckle returned only when Xtreme came down and began to approach him.

"So, you defeat me and then what?" Fury readied his claws at him, "There will always be someone else out to kill you. If not me, Vainglory, or that witch Desire, then it will be someone else. What will you and your band of goodie goods do then?"

"That is for us to decide," Xtreme told him, drawing X-Calibur from their chest. "Now Fury, your rampage, ends here!"

Xtreme raised X-Calibur then pulled back on the trigger, "STAR! GALE! ROCK! YUKI! RYU-O! MAXIMUM DRIVE!" roared all the gaia memories on their sword, unleashing a super charged slash upon Fury.

Fury felt time slow around him, one final smirk coming to his face as he watched the multicolored slash of energy hurl towards him.

"Forgive me…. Mother…" he muttered to himself, the image of Desire coming to his mind as he felt the slash cut through him, "it seems as though… I have failed you…" he closed his eyes, a single tear running down his cheek, "Forgive me."

Ms Seraphina watched this defeat from an orb in her hand, scrolling through it before locking onto Shiore on the ground. "Quite the opposite, my child. You have given me exactly what I nerd." She smirked, turning her gaze towards the hospital she stood in front of, "Now, it's time I play my part."

Back at the police blockade, Derek Maverick was being loaded into the back of one car after the riders had all powered down. Shiore stared at her reflection in the mirror of one car as a swirl of purple aura flickered in her eye.

She winced as a result, holding her eye closed to bare through the slight bit of pain it caused.

"Yuki," Carter spoke as he came up to her, Shiore turning to face him, "you alright?"

She removed her hand from her eye, looking back into the mirror as she watched the aura fade into her eye. She closed both her eyes and nodded, "I'm fine," she huffed.

Meanwhile, Alex stood by the car that Derek was in the back of looking him in the eye with an ice cold glare.

"You're going away for a very long time, Derek," Alex told him, gripping the edge of the door where the window came out from, "any final words before you leave my sight forever?"

"Just… one…" Derek managed a smirk, glancing over to meet Alex's gaze, "when Shredder and I killed your mother… I regret not being able to end the life of that officer… the one that lead to your miserable existence. Sampson, I think his name was."

Alex's eyes shot open, the boy letting out a small gasp, "W-What did you just say?" he muttered as he began to shake.

Suddenly, Derek whacked his head hard against the cage that divided the front and back of the police car, a fit of laughter escaping his lips, "Know this Alex Darwin, it was Vainglory who ordered her death," he told him, blood dripping down his face as he went to whack his head off the cage again.

"HEY! STOP THAT!" An officer barked, trying to get the door unlocked.

"See you in hell," Derek said once more before delivering the blow to his head that left him limp and motionless.

Alex stood there, frozen by what he just heard and saw. Even Marcoh trembled, regaining his composure after a moment and looking the other officer in the eye, "Is he… dead?" Marcoh asked with a tremor to his voice.

The other officer got the door open and checked Derek for a pulse, "Still alive," he breathed with relief, "the bastard just knocked himself out cold."

Marcoh, with a snarl, balled his hand into a fist, "Dammit. Right when he was actually telling us something to. I doubt that will happen again."

"M-Marcoh…" Alex spoke quietly, catching Marcoh's attention, "What he just said.. About my mother… and Sampson… is it true?"

Marcoh took a deep gulp, not sure what to say. Fortunately for him, he didn't have to.

"It is," Carter spoke, coming up from behind Alex, "Gordon told himself… about being your father anyway." Alex sharply swallowed, unable to say a word. Carter, after a moment, placed his hand on Alex's shoulder, "I know it's rough… especially after today. But for now, just be glad that you have a father that cares about you. Alright?"

After a moment, Alex nodded, "I… I will."

Silence filled the air, only to be broken by a voice filling the air.

"ALEX?!" Madison cried as she came up to the boys, letting out a breath of relief once she got a good look at the boy she was running towards, "Thank goodness, I was worried."

Alex looked to her, raising a brow, "Madison?... What are you doing here?"

"I came to make sure you were okay," Madison told him, a sad look coming to her face. Cole, Tara, Shiore and Ashley were now gather around them.

"You came all this way… for that?" he asked with a bit of a wince, turning his gaze away from her, "I thought you were done with me."

"I know I said that, but I was wrong," Madison told him, grabbing his face with both her hands and forcing him to look back at her, "I care about you…" She gulped, feeling her heart begin to ache. In the spur of the moment, she pressed her lips against his to the surprise of everyone including herself. Madison's eyes were closed, however Alex and Ashley's eyes were wide open. Madison pulled away after holding the kiss for a moment, opening her eyes back up as she pulled away, "I love you."

Alex stared into her eyes, more confused in that moment than ever before, "Madison I…" he placed his hands on her shoulder, swallowing his complicated feelings on the matter, "I'm sorry."

Without a second word, he took from the scene and headed off down the road leaving both Madison and Ashley standing there with their hearts in their stomachs. Madison's lower lip trembled, balling her hand into a fist as Ashley came up and placed her arm over Madison's shoulder.

"Ash… I'm a bitch…" she muttered, looking her friend in the eye, "aren't I?"

Ashley let out a heavy sigh, "Of course you aren't," she muttered as she watched as Alex disappeared over the horizon. "No one's perfect, Maddy."

Back at the Hospital, Sampson lay asleep in his bed only to be woken by a gentle hand taking hold of his own. Slowly but surely, his eyes opened to see a woman with short chestnut hair standing above him with emerald green eyes.

"Alice…?" he muttered, tears coming to his eyes.

The woman smiled and nodded, "It's time Gordon," she told him in a voice softer than silk, "it's Alex time now, to pick up where we left off." She extended a hand to him, "He can handle the rest on his own."

Sampson reached his hand out to take Alice, only to hold it in the air and coil it back after a moment. He stared at the woman before him, his breathing getting heavier and heavier.

Alice looked at him with a raised brow, "What's wrong?"

Sampson shook his head, "I can't go yet Alice… not like this." He leaned himself back, staring at the now fogged over window, "there are things I still need to do.

Alice managed a small laugh, "Stubborn as always I see…" she stepped away from him, the pitter patter of footsteps beginning to echo in the distance. "Well, know this," Alice looked him in the eye, her own becoming bright yellow, "when the day comes when you do decide to see me again, I'll be waiting."

Sampson smirked at her, "and I'll be ready then."

Alex darted down the hall, throwing the door to Sampson's room right open as he came in looking as if he had just run a marathon. The room was empty, save for Sampson who was still on his bed.

"Hey there…" Alex said between breathes, "dad…"

Sampson's grin faded, "So.. Carter told you?"

Alex sharply swallowed, then nodded as he stumbled into the room and pulled up a chair, "Why didn't you?" he asked as he sat down.

"I was, too ashamed to…" Sampson admitted, hanging his head a bit, "but now, so much time as been wasted between you and I."

Alex reached out, taking hold of his father's hand, "Well… no time like the present, right?"

Later that same night, Marcoh was driving down a busy city street as rain poured down from above. His eyes moved to the re-view mirror, glaring at Derek who was still knocked out in the back seat. Glancing back, a dark figure walked in front of his car.

"Oh shit!" he shouted, slamming on the breaks as the figure fell in front of his car and Derek smacked his head on the cage again. "What the hell?!"

He got out from his car, horns blaring from behind him. Marcoh flipped off the drivers behind him as he moved to the front of his car, gasping when he found an injured Rylee clawing at the ground with the Spite memory clenched tightly in her hand.

"Damn you to hell…" Rylee muttered weakly, clutching her bleeding side, "Fury…"

{Insert Ending Theme: "One" by Altima}

**Next time on Kamen Rider Ultimate Xtreme**

With Fury defeated, the conflict between META and the riders moves into its final phase. Amidst the chaos brought on by Fury's actions, Inertia finally plays his hand.

What are the intentions of the elouf commander of META?

All will be decided when Kamen Rider Ultimate Xtreme continues in

**Episode 40: Inertia's Final Gambit**

_Show us your True self, Inertia._

**_COMING SOON FROM IAMTHESKULLKID! VEGA X XTREME! _**

_Kamen Rider Vega, What are you?_

**NOTE: XTREME X VEGA WILL TAKE PLACE BETWEEN THIS CHAPTER AND THE NEXT. IT WILL BE WRITTEN BY MY GOOD FRIEND IAMTHESKULLKID! LOOK FORWARD TO IT!**


	7. Episode 40: Inertia's Final Gambit

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: This chapter was written to take place and acknowledge the events of the (as of this writing) unreleased crossover between Kamen Rider Xtreme and Kamen Rider Vega in which Vega comes to Ardent City after Vincent Garden aka Crave is broken out of prison and gains new powers, turning Gale, Rock, Yuki and Ryu-O against Xtreme and Shift in one final act of revenge. Due to me not wishing to spoil too much about it, I will say (outside from the above story outline) that at the end of the battle Vega gives Xtreme copies of the Violent and Vainglory memories before departing Ardent City and Ashley Haze aka Kamen Rider Shift is given her own transport, an ATV called the All Terrain Shifter. With that out of the way, we may continue with the chapter proper. Do look forward to the planned crossover written by fanfiction user **_**I am Skull Kid **_**which is coming in the near future.**

**Episode 40: Inertia's Final Gambit**

The date was November 13th, two weeks after the battle with Fury. Ardent City was recovering from the disaster on a seemingly calm but cold winter morning as Alex awoke in his bed with Ashley still fast asleep in the bed beside him. He stared at the barely clad woman next time him, feeling his heart ache as his gaze drifted to his desk on the other end of the room.

He slowly rose, the rain pelting down on the window not helping his mood as he stumbled to his desk and eyed a line of three gaia memories that lay in a row. Two were copies of the Violent and Vainglory memories left to him by Vega, while the third was the pale grey one with Madison's name on it.

He let a heavy sigh, placing his hand over Madison's memory as Ash began to stir. "Fuck, is it seriously raining still?" She groaned with a yawn as she rose, using the blanket to cover herself. "I wish it would get cold enough to snow already."

"Yeah…" Alex muttered, his gaze still fixed on the memory, "snow is… better I guess."

Ashley slight grin faded, an empathic sigh escaping her lips as she rose up and wrapped her arms around Alex, "What's eating you, Superstar?"

"Ash…" Alex sharply swallowed, his heart beginning to feel like it was being shoved into a vice, "Are we bad people?"

She looked at him with a smirk, laughing a little, "Of course we aren't, we just saved a bunch of people from a mad-man," she told him, giving him a kiss on the cheek, "how would we be anything else?"

"THAT isn't what I'm talking about…" Alex pulled away from her, the grey memory still in his hand.

"Then what-" Ash paused, her heart sinking the moment she saw the memory in Alex's hand, "oh…" she swallowed, biting her lip as her hands began to tremble, "this is about us… and Madison… isn't it?"

"Look… you're great, but this…" he motioned between the two of them, "I don't-"

"Save it…" Ash placed her hands over his lips, avoiding eye contact with him, "I get it, you love her…" she sniffled, "I guess I was kidding myself, thinking I could live outside of her shadow."

"I wish things could be different… but they're not," Alex told her as softly as he could, "I'm sorry."

"Just one question though," she wiped her eyes and manages a smirk at Alex, her eyes still red and runny, "what if she doesn't take you back?"

"Honestly… I haven't exactly thought that far," Alex admitted.

"Well you'd better," she laughed a little, jabbing him lightly in the chest, "Cause until that queen retakes her throne, I have squatters rights."

"I don't suppose I'd have any say on that?" Alex began to sweat nervously.

Ashley glares at him, raising a brow as she crossed her arms, "After the stunts you've pulled on both me and her? No, absolutely not."

"Then… I'm going for a walk," Alex grinned, quickly getting dressed while grabbing his keys and the trio of memories on his desk.

Ashley gawked at him, keeping her brow raised, "Because, I get my best ideas on my feet." He said before leaving his bedroom and going right to the front door.

"HEY ASSHOLE!" Ashley called out to him, "I'm gonna be gone by the time you get back!"

"I keep a spare under the mat!" Alex called out to her before closing and locking the door behind him.

With a heavy sigh, Ashley sat back down on the bed before burying her face into a pillow. Within seconds she was sobbing. Her wallowing continues until her phone rang. Wiping her eyes and sniffling some more, Ashley grabbed her phone from the bedside table and checked the caller ID.

"Madison?" She questioned, rolling her eyes and smirking, "Speak of the devil." She muttered as she answered it, putting it on speaker phone, "Sup Mad Pad?" She asked as she got up and started getting dressed.

"Hey Ash…" she spoke with a noticeable tremor to her voice, "are you free today?"

"Well my plans kinda blew up in my face…. So yeah, I guess I am," she told her with a cynical smirk, "You wanna hang out I'm guessing?"

"Yeah! Actually that's exactly what I wanted to ask!" Madison sang with a noticeable spring coming to her voice. "I was thinking that with what happened the last couple weeks, it's been a while since… the three of us hang out, like we used to."

"The three of us?" Ashley questioned, "as in, you, me and Sarah?"

A long pause came from Madison, "Yeah… I feel, with what you and I went through at the time-"

"That we never gave our girl a proper send off?" Ashley's smirk widened as she finished getting dressed, "I like the way you think Maddy. I'll swing by my place on the way over, grab a bottle from my dad's cabinet. The two of us could have a drink in her honour!"

"Wait! Drink?! Are you sure?!" Madison's voice went into a flurry, "Wait?! Swing by your place?! Where are you?!"

"It's a long story, okay," Ashley laughed a little, beginning to work on her makeup, "I'll tell you when I get there okay? This is one story you of all people deserve to hear."

{Insert Opening Theme: "Alones" by Aqua Timez}

In the Ardent City prison, Marcoh glared into a high security cell that housed Vince in a straight jacket that bound him to the slab they called a bed. Cole and Tara stood just beside him, Cole with a sad look in his eye while Tara glared with her lip perked in a way that read 'serves you damn right!' Vince, with his mouth covered, could only glare at the trio that stood in front of his cell.

"I'd be careful with that face if I were you Vince," Marcoh told him in a stern tone of voice, "or it will freeze that way."

"I think it already has, given the stunt he pulled," Tara spoke in an equally stern tone, "can't believe that creep is actually Sarah's older brother." Her body began shiver as she felt sick to her stomach, "I can still feel his aura crawling under my skin… I ain't no puppet on strings."

"And if someone ever does try to put you on strings again, I'll be there to cut you loose," Cole told her, wrapping his arm around her before kissing her on the cheek.

With blush, a grin and a playful mouthing of 'No', Tara looked to Marcoh while dodging the gaze of Vince, "So, if we're done looking at this creep, can we get going to the person we actually came to see?"

This managed to get a slight grin from the usually stoic Marcoh, "Of course you may. She's been waiting for the two of you all morning actually." He shot one final glare towards Vince, "follow me."

With a trip that only lasted thirty minutes down a long twisting hallway designed to confuse inmates, Marcoh soon stopped in front of a single steel bulkhead door.

Tara looked up to the steel door and took in a sharp gulp, "So… how is how little criminal?"

Marcoh smirked once again, "See for yourself."

Marcoh opened the door, the sound of laughter off of a tv set escaping the now clearly sound proofed room. Tara and Cole both stared in awe as the beheld the fully furnished cell covered wall to wall in fuzzy rugs and bean bag chairs of all sorts of colors. It was almost like a mini apartment. It didn't take long for them to spot Kat, sitting on a neon purple sofa in the orange pants of her prison jumpsuit and a tight fitting black tank top. She was stuffing her face with popcorn while snickering at the tv, her attention being grabbed by the opening door as she locked eyes with Tara and Cole.

"Hey guys," she waved to them while patting the seat on the sofa beside her to invite them over, "was wondering when the two of ya were gonna visit. Started to worry ya didn't love me anymore." She teased.

"Oh don't be silly Kitten, we would never!" Tara cooed as she came up and snuggled Kat's cheek before kissing her on the lips. "We were buying you a get outta the box soon basket, but stupid Fury had to go and ruin the whole thing."

Kat laughed, blushing hard, "Well, it's the thought that counts, right?"

Cole couldn't help but grin at the scene in front of him, "This can't be legal," he whispered to Marcoh.

"I pulled a few strings for her," Marcoh himself managed a grin, closing the door behind him and Cole, "she is my daughter now after all?"

Cole's eyes widened as did his grin, "Are you serious?!" He almost screamed.

Marcoh nodded, "All the paperwork was finalized this morning."

"See, you are a nice guy," Cole teased the officer.

"Hey Cole!" Tara called out to him, "come get in on the cuddle puddle!"

Meanwhile, in a bakery across town, Shiore stood in front of the counter staring at a birthday cake with white and blue frosting.

"Alright, now which one do you want?" Called out a voice from beside her, Shiore looking over to see an older brother kneeling beside his kid sister looking at the assortment of cupcakes.

"That one!" The little sister screamed as she pointed excitedly to a chocolate cupcake with pink frosting and loaded with star shaped sprinkles, "Brother, I want that one!" She repeated.

"Alright, we'll get you that one," the old brother chuckled, patting his kid sister on the back.

Shiore avoided looking at them as they made their purchase and left. "And for you ma'am?" Asked the man behind the counter, smiling at Shiore.

Shiore quickly looked up, eyeing the birthday cake in the corner of her eye before pointing to it. "Ah, I see. An excellent choice," he sang as he took it out the display and took it over to a nearby counter, grabbing a tube of icing. "Anything you want written on it?"

Shiore nodded, handing him a slip of paper.

The man took the slip, his smile widening, "Alright, I'll have it done in just a sec." He gestured to a chair in the corner, "you can have a seat until its ready."

Shiore bowed then sat herself down. She glanced out the window, watching as the brother and sister crossed the street. Her right arm pulsed sharply, Shiore gritting her teeth to bare through, the pain under the sleeve of her sweater only stopping once the brother and sister were out of you.

With a sharp exhale, she narrowed her gaze into a glare as she continued to stare where the pair once stood. After a moment in silence, she sucked her teeth.

Alex stood in a cemetery with a black winter jacket over his normal attire, his phone was too his ear and ringing while he gripped Madison's memory in his hand. The rain had stopped, but dark clouds still loomed overhead

"Alex?" Sampson picked up, "What's eating you kiddo?"

"It's a couple things Samp- I mean dad, sorry," Alex let out a sigh, holding his head with one hand, "you got a minute?"

"I can always make time for you," Sampson told him, "shoot."

"You ever feel… stuck between two choices?" Alex asked him bluntly, "And you aren't entirely sure which one is right?"

"You're gonna need to be a bit more specific son," Sampson said with a heavy sigh, "otherwise, I can't exactly help you."

"Ashley and Madison…" Alex told him, "Ashley's great, really she is but… I don't feel she and I really… click? But then again, I kinda fucked things up with Madison… so I'm not entirely sure I have much of a choice." Silence fell over Sampson's end, only for laughter to come out from his end. Alex's blushed, glaring at the phone, "What's funny about that?"

"Nothing, I promise," Sampson control his laughter with a heavy breath, "It's just a bit relieving that's all. Even after what happened with Fury and Crave, it's girl trouble that's weighing you down the most."

"Well, it's my girl trouble that seems to be all I can actually effect right now to be honest," Alex managed a grin and laugh of his own, "I don't suppose you can help me out?"

"Sad to say I can't," Sampson admitted, "this is gonna be one thing you'll need to-"

"I know, I know," Alex let out a frustrated huff, "it's for me to decide. Mom's old line, right?."

"Hey, this is just the kinda thing you do when you're young kiddo," Sampson told him. "You aren't gonna be that way forever. I bet you'll miss the days where trivial conflicts are the most you have to deal with."

"I suppose…" Alex thought for a moment, "alright, I'll let you go."

"Be safe Alex," Sampson told him, "and should you need me for anything, I'm always here."

"I know… bye." He hung up then sat there for a good long while, staring at the grave in front of him with Sarah's name on it. "I'm an idiot as always… aren't I?" He hung his head, taking a seat down on the still wet grass. "That's something you'd say right about now, right Sarah?"

"I wouldn't say you're an idiot," a voice called out to him, "not always anyway."

Alex held his head, breathing out sharply. "Then why do I always feel like I am?"

"It's cause you're human," the voice repeated, this time becoming clear that it was behind him, "it's a curse we all have… some are just better at hiding it is all."

Alex gapsed, looking over his shoulder to see a silver haired man with just as sad a gaze he had staring back and looming above him. "... Joel…"

"Sarah Gardner. The girl Fury planted the Reptilian memory into." Joel sat down beside Alex and looked the boy, "She was someone close to you, wasn't she?"

"Yeah… she was…" Alex nodded, holding back tears. "Sure, she and I fought more than we got along. But at times like this, I really wish she was here you know?"

"If she was here, even for a moment," Joel glanced over to Alex, "what would you say to her?"

"What wouldn't I say?" Alex managed a small laugh, "Sorry for throwing a way the girl you loved? Sorry for being such a stick in the mud?" A few tears escaped Alex's eye, the boy wiping them away with his hand as he sniffled, "Sorry I couldn't save you… before it was too late?"

Joel breathed deeply, placing his hand on Alex's shoulder, "I know how you feel… it's not too different than how I felt the day of Gale's activation test." He glared at Sarah's grave and shook his head, "had I known the destruction it would've caused, I never would have allowed my darling Thea, or Tara as you know, to be used the way she was."

"You mean the whirlwind.. The one that destroyed half the city, right?" Alex asked for clarification, looking towards Joel, "You know what happened that day, don't you?"

"It was a disaster, plain and simple," Joel growled, "I would do anything to reverse the damage it did that day, but all I could do at that moment was save my Tara.. at the cost of all her memories of Carter, her mother and above all… myself."

"I know what you wanted to do..." Alex said, "but what DID you do?"

"The only thing I could do, I sent Tara as far away from here as possible, in the custody of one of my closest friends from childhood." Joel told him.

"Jaune Evonna?" Alex asked.

"The very same," Joel nodded. "However, I didn't know that Alice would give Tara that bird she calls her friend, and that damned gaia memory that nearly claimed her life." Joel groaned heavily, holding his face. "If nothing else, I can be glad I was finally able to restore her memories from all those years ago."

"You mean, from one of these," Alex held up Madison's drained memory, "right?"

Joel narrowed his gaze at the memory, "Where did you get that?"

"Melody had it," Alex glared at him, "you wouldn't have had anything to do with it, would you Inertia?" his tone changed to a much harsher one.

"I extracted the memories of Madison Tyler from my being once I learned how, with the intention of returning them to their proper owner," Joel told him, hanging his head "however Vainglory threatened to kill Tara without remorse if I didn't hand it over… he must have been the one to pass it on to Melody... I'm truly sorry."

Alex stared at Joel, rubbing his face while letting out a grunt before pulling at his hair. "It's fine, I'm not angry at you." He said letting his hands fall to his side, "Your hands were tied… and I probably would have done the same thing." He looked at Joel, "but there is still one thing I need to wonder… if you used a gaia memory on both Tara and Madison.. Why didn't it turn them into dopants at any point?"

"A dopant is created as a reaction to a memory being inserted in a vessel it deems as foreign, hence why when you riders use drivers build using the same code it allows you all to access their powers without stripping you of any of your humanity," Joel told him. "Since the memories used on both Tara and Madison came from them, and not the earth, it follows the same principle really. No foreign vessel, no negative reaction leading to the birth of a dopant."

"Still doesn't explain why dopants need to exist in the first place," Alex huffed, looking back at Sarah's grave, "just what the hell is Vainglory hoping to accomplish with all this anyway?"

Joel narrowed his gaze at Alex, rising his feet before pulling a card out of his coat pocket, "Come to this address tomorrow afternoon and I'll tell you. You may bring the others if you wish. As a matter of fact it, it would be prefered."

Alex stared at him for a moment, then took the card and examined it, "Are you serious?"

Joel nodded to him, "Meet me there, and everything will be made clear."

At the police station, Carter huddled over a cabinet with an open file in one hand and his phone in the other. Sampson looked at him from his desk, letting out a sigh.

"Shiore Fubuki," he half read, skimming over her name and getting right to the information he was looking for. "Date of birth: November 17th, 1995…. Contact, two clicks from loaned GMR scanner radio mode…" Carter huffed, tossing the file down on the top of the cabinet.

"I told you it wouldn't be in there," Sampson told him, "she only gave us that method of contacting her, and Marcoh has the scanner at the moment. Also, you aren't technically even allowed to be looking at those files."

"Well then could you have Marcoh contact her then?" Carter requested, turning to face Sampson. "I haven't seen her face since Crave broke out last week."

"Well, maybe she's still a bit on edge from that whole thing?" Sampson cocked a brow up at him, "most people don't like it when their mind is taken over you know."

"I know that," Carter let out a heavy sigh, his gaze back to the file. "Still, that doesn't mean I not allowed to worry right?"

"God, first Alex and now you," Sampson laughed, shaking his head. "Carter, do fancy Ms Fubuki?"

"Shut it," Carter glared at the file, something catching his eye that he hadn't noticed before.

"Kids," Sampson laughed some more, "I swear, you're all more alike than you think."

"Ms Fubuki…." Carter muttered, eyeing what was actually written on the file before reading it off, "Shiore…. Shirayuki…"

Shiore sat up right on a nearly empty streetcar moving towards her condo, bag containing her boxed cake placed firmly on her lap while she stared blankly out the window watching the scenery go by.

"Next stop, Yule at Broadside," announced the automated conductor as the streetcar slowed to a halt.

The doors opened allowing a pair of teenage girls to get on, both with skips to their steps.

"I dunno, I don't normally like going to see things opening night," the one said as they made their way passed Shiore and to the back of the street car. "What if it's packed?"

"It's a cheesy horror rom-com based on some emo grunge comic no one cares about, it's gonna be dead!" the other girl laughed. "Besides, seeing it opening night is the only sure fire way we won't get spoiled on anything!"

"Wait…" the first girl paused, "if no one cares about it, who's gonna spoil it?" She asked as the street car continued moving.

"Oh you know there's gonna be that one ass hole!" The other girl retorted. As the girls continued talking, Shiore felt the pulse in her arm return only this time it was even more violent.

"Next stop, Bennet at Buchanan," the automated conductor called out, Shiore reaching up in a hurry to grab the stop request cord and quickly pulling it down.

The street car came to a halt, Shiore grabbing her cake and walking to the door with it.

"Have a goodnight ma'am!" the female driver called out to her with a grin, Shiore stepping off the street car without a word or even a nod to the driver.

The street car started moving again, Shiore glaring at the two girls at the back as the pulsing in her arm continued. The street car rolled off down the road, the girls not even noticing that Shiore was even there. The pulsing in her arm faded. With another sucking of her teeth, Shiore made her way down the block to her condo that was now in view.

Back in Kat's luxury prison cell, the black haired hair sat on Cole's lap on the sofa, her cheeks resting on the palms of her hands as she stared Tara in the eye with a pout. "All the end of world talk is kinda bumming me out to be honest," she told the pair after being told about Fury's most recent attack on the city. She quickly cracked a smirk, "What else you got going on?"

"Well I might drop out of high school," Tara grinned, "that's something right?"

Cole's eyes shot open, looking Tara in the eye, "You might WHAT?!"

"Well my grades have been in the toilet since all the fighting kicked into high gear. Too hard to focus with all the stuff blowing up in my face," Tara admitted with a sigh, "besides, I'm gonna be working full time at the Cat's Eye, so it's not like I really need some arcane system to decide what I wanna do right?"

"You're not dropping out of school," Cole pinched her cheek, "got it?"

"Ow!" Tara cried as her boyfriend held her cheek, this getting a laugh out of Kat, "What do you want? The new work I've been getting is too damn hard! Seriously, why would Ms Seraphina assign that much homework before vanishing into thin air?!"

Suddenly, Kat's eyes shot open and glazed over. She soon went limp as a bone and fell to the floor. Cole and Tara both gasped, Cole getting up only for Marcoh to bark.

"Don't move!" The officer got up and examined the girl, letting out a sigh of relief once he felt her pulse, "Thank god, she's alright."

"Are you sure?!" The two riders asked.

Marcoh nodded, "and if I were you, I'd be thankful that teacher of yours disappeared when she did." He shot a glare at the two of them, "Because the only other time Kat acted like this, was when I asked her about Desire."

Cole and Tara both sharply swallowed, "Are you saying…" Cole started

"There was an enemy under our nose and we didn't even realize it?" Tara finished his sentence, feeling her skin crawl.

Marcoh noticed that Kat beginning to stir, the officer quickly placing his finger to his lips as a sign for them to be quiet, "I'll look into it, but I don't want either of you breath another word about this around her. Got that?"

The rider duo both nodded, Kat letting out as she held her now throbbing head. "Ow… what in the hell happened?"

"You fainted," Cole told her, helping her up before felling her head, "are you okay?"

Kat slowly nodded, staring off into space, "Yeah… I think so…" she swallowed, looking over to both Tara and Cole, "I'm sorry… what were we talking about?"

"You silly girl, we were talking about stuff we're gonna do as trio once you get out of here." Tara chimed in a grin, grabbing the attention of everyone in the room. "I was thinking we could go to my dads beach house down in Miami, just the three of us."

Kat managed a grin, "Yeah… that sounds lovely."

{End of Part A}

{Start of Part B}

Madison sat on the couch in her living room, gawking at Ashley as she swigged down a huge mouthful of the liquor she had swiped from her dad's collection. Setting the bottle down, Ash let out a gasp of delight.

"Fuck!" She cheered, her face completely flush red, "I needed a good drink!"

Madison blinked her eyes at her, raising a brow of concern at her, "Don't you think you've had enough?" she asked gently.

"I will-" Ash hiccuped, "have enough when you have at least one drop. We're supposed to be drinking to Sarah, aren't we?"

Madison let out a heavy sigh then grabbed her glass, "Alright," she managed a smile as she held her glass out to Ashley, "for Sarah."

"That's what I like to hear!" Ashley grinned, pouring Madison some before refilling her own glass. She held her glass out to Madison, "to Sarah, the girl who broke my heart."

With a clink of their glasses, Ashley downed her whole cup while Madison took the slightest sip. "What even happened between the two of you anyway?"

"Same thing that happened with the guy who dumped me this morning," Ashley groaned, rolling over to lay back on the sofa, "they were obsessed with someone else."

"Ouch," Madison winced with empathy for her friend.

"Indeed," Ashley laughed, "and in both cases it was you."

Madison's face turned bright red, remembering the kiss Sarah had given her moments before the end. "Okay…" she sharply swallowing before looking over to face Ashley, "I knew Sarah had a thing for me…. But who the hell is this other guy anyway? Do I know him?"

Ashley nodded, twiddling her thumbs awkwardly, "Oh yeah… you know him."

"Well go on then! Tell me!" Madison regained her smile, nudging her friend's leg. "Who is it? Simon? Craig? It isn't Austin from homeroom is it?" she cringed.

Ashley grumbled, looking up to Madison with a raised brow, "Promise you won't be mad?"

"Yes! I promise!" Madison huffed, giving Ashley's leg yet another push, "Just tell me already!"

Ashley stared at her in silence for a good long while then gulped, "Alex…. and I kinda slept with him... like…. five times."

Madison fell silent. The normally chipper girl quietly got up with her glass in hand, walked over to where Ashley's head was. Ashley stared, blinking in confusion as Madison shot a rage filled glare into the other girls eyes before throwing the remainder of her drink right into her face.

"WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU?!" Madison roared, slamming her glass down on the coffee table, "You don't just FUCK your friends EX! How the hell could you?!"

"Madison listen! I didn't really mean to!" Ash pleaded, sitting herself up, "It's just that, after your whole First Burn thing I-" Madison continued to glare at her, crossing her arms before raising a brow, daring her to continue, "-I mean he was a mess, I'm STILL a mess. One thing just lead to another and then-"

"Then what, you slipped and landed on him?! Five times?!" She cut her off in a done tone of voice. She let out a sigh of defeat, sitting herself down on a nearby arm chair while holding her face with her hand. "First Sarah and that Tara girl kiss me, then you go and do that! Why can't blonds just keep it in their pants?"

"Hey, its that stigma that made me dye my hair black," Ashley pointed a finger at her, "that's not cool."

"Neither was sleeping with Alex. FIVE times." Madison glared at her, "Why would even DO that anyway? You told me you prefered girls." She asked, more confused than angry at this point.

"Prefered, not exclusively liked," Ashley clarified, "and I mentioned I'm a mess, right?"

"That's an understatement," Madison huffed, planting her face in the palm of her hand. She fell silent for a good long while before shaking her head, "Look I'm not mad at you…" she began to choke, "if you want him, you can damn well have him."

"I don't, at least not anymore," Ashley sat herself up, looking to Madison as she poured herself another drink, "I mentioned how he was obsessed over you… right?" She raised a brow.

Madison didn't respond, as the red head simply did not know how to. The pair just sat there in silence, a silence that was only broken by Ashley's phone rang with Alex's number on the caller ID.

"Ah, speak of the devil," Ashley answered it, setting it to speaker mode, "sup Asshole, your on speaker phone. What the hell do you want?"

Alex sharply gulped on the other end of the line, "Its rider stuff… wait, why am I on speaker?"

"Cause, I'm having a little spurred women's club party with Maddy," Ashley told him, the alcohol still affecting her, "I told her about you and I, and she's pissed at the both of us."

Silence over took Alex for a moment, the boy returning with a stutter of, "Madison?... Is that true?"

With a gulp of her own, Madison wiped her eyes with her trembling hand before shaking her head, "Alex…. I don't feel comfortable talking to you right now…" she said as she got up and looked Ashley in the eye with a sad gaze, "now if you don't mind… I'm going for a shower, before I say or do anything else that I'll regret."

Ashley watched Madison walked down the main hall of her condo, letting out a heavy sigh of defeat as she heard the bathroom door slam and lock.

"Ashley…" Alex muttered, "is Madison… okay?"

"I think you and I have done more than enough as far as she's concerned," Ashley told him, looking back to the phone, "switching the conversation for a moment, what rider stuff did you call me about?"

"I visited Sarah's grave today… and Joel, META's Inertia dopant, was there…" Alex told her with a tremor to his voice, "he wants to speak with all of us tomorrow. Look, I know I've screwed both you and Madison around far more than either of you deserve, but I… I…"

"Alex? Shut up for a moment and let me talk, okay?" Ashley sipped her drink, placing it back down after, "I'll be there tomorrow, but you need to do something for me."

"Okay," Alex said, "what is it?"

"I'll need a few hours to prepare, so make sure you don't go home until nine at the earliest tonight firstly," Ashley looked to her phone, "whatever happens at your place tonight happens, and the both of us have to allow it. Then, come sunrise tomorrow, we BOTH walk the straight and narrow and leave our pasts behind us."

"Ashley," Alex huffed, "what are you planning?"

"You'll find out when you get home," Ashley told him. "Look, I'm gonna be a better woman from this point forward, but it's only gonna work if you become a better man. Got it?"

Alex gulped, "... Yes."

"Alex," Ashley raised a brow, "I need you to swear to me."

"I…" Alex began, "I swear to become a better man."

"Good boy," Ashley smirked, "I'll see you tonight, make sure its a good one okay?" She said before hanging up. She looked over to the bathroom, the echo of the still running water catching her ear. "Alright, now to dig myself out of the other grave." She got up and headed over to the bathroom, knocking firmly on the door.

"Still in here!" Madison called out to her.

"Madison, I wanna talk," Ashley told her, "I'm done finished with you yet."

"Can it wait until I get out?!" Madison asked, "I'm kinda doing something!" Ashley stared at the door, eyeing the handle specifically before using her nail to unlock it and walk herself into the bathroom. "AHHH!" Madison screamed, "GET OUT!"

"Oh come on," Madison let out a sigh, "it's not like you've got anything I don't."

In the dingy lit hall wall of an old apartment building, Marcoh marched out from an elevator with his hand holding his face and his phone to his ear.

"What do you mean you don't have a file on Ms Seraphina?!" He barked into the phone, "She was a teacher at your damn school wasn't she?"

"Sorry sir, but the files you're requesting just don't exist," the young sounding woman on the other end of the line told him, "are you sure you aren't thinking of some other school?"

"My sources say otherwise Ms Foster," Marcoh told her with a huff as he reached the door to his apartment, "I know for a fact she worked there."

"Well I can tell you right now, she was never here," the teacher told him. "I know just about everyone on staff, and I don't remember anyone based on the description you gave me."

"Well I'm going to be coming by there tomorrow just to be safe. Have a good evening Ms Foster," Marcoh told her before hanging up, rubbing his forehead. "Good lord, what the fuck is going on here?"

Unlocking the door after a heavy frustrated huff, Marcoh entered his apartment and was greeted to the glare of Rylee Damon sitting at a small round table smoking a cigarette and cuffed to a steel beam jutting out of the wall.

"Welcome home warden," Rylee snarled at him. "Is this the part where you read off my rights?"

"No, it's where you tell me exactly what I want to know." Marcoh told her with a glare, locking his apartment door and drawing the curtains. He then reached into his breast pocket and pulled out the Spite memory and held it up in plain view of its owner, "that is, if you want a chance of getting this back."

Shiore walked out from the city street now darkened by the veil of night and into the empty lobby of her building. With her bag in hand, she walked up to the row of elevators before hitting the button to call one. With two dings from the elevator going up, the door opened and she stepped into it.

Within seconds, her eyes shot open as she was greeted to the scene of Nicole and Richard Tyler making out in the corner of that same elevator. They quickly stopped their promiscuous behavior once the spotted the navy haired girl staring back at them with a blank expression.

"Sorry," Richard grinned with a laugh, reaching for the elevator buttons, "which floor?" He asked, Nicole simply hiding behind Richard out of pure embarrassment.

Shiore hit the button for floor 19 on her own, going to stand in front of the elevator door with her back to the wall. As the doors closed, and the elevator rose, Richard grabbed at Nicole's backside in a playful manner only for Nicole to smack his hand away.

"Contain yourself until we get to my place, okay?" Nicole whispered, blushing hard as she kept Shiore in her sight. Shiore meanwhile balled her hand into a tight fist, doing her best to hide the fact her right arm was pulsing violently once again.

"But, doesn't Madison have a friend over?" Richard whispered.

Nicole managed a grin then shook her head, "She texted me a while ago, said they were going out somewhere."

Richard smirked, "Oh, I see… it will be just like college then?"

Nicole glared at him with a smirk of her own, "If you behave." With a loud ding, the elevator reached floor 14. "Oh, this is us," Nicole announced to Shiore as she and Richard made their way out.

"Have a goodnight ma'am," Richard waved to her. As the door closed in her face, Shiore glared while sucking her teeth.

The moment Richard and Nicole were out of the elevator, the pain in Shiore's right arm faded immediately. That allowed her to be peacefully taken up to her floor, the elevator door opening on the stark white 19th. The ice rider quietly made her way down the hall until she reached the end of it and, with a heavy sigh of relief, she dug out her key and unlocked the door.

Once inside the dark just barely furnished condo, Shiore placed her cake box down on the dining room table before heading into the kitchen. She grabbed four plates and a knife, staring into the reflection she cast into the blade.

"You are alone," Fury's words echoed in her head as what remained of his purple aura swirled in her eye, "you always have been."

With a sharp exhale, she walked over to the table and opened the box to reveal the cake which now read 'Happy Birthday Satoshi and Shiore.' Staring at it knife in hand, she cut four slices off it then put them all onto plates before taking each slice over to the now open shrine she kept in her living room and placing each plate in front of a row of photos, one of an older man, another of an older woman and a third one in the center of a boy who in the photo looked only a bit older than Shiore herself. Regardless of age, they all shared her hair and eye color.

Lighting a bit of incense, Shiore clapped her hands together as if she was praying. "Happy birthday," she muttered to herself with a tremor in her voice, "big brother."

Long after the sun had set, Alex found himself begrudgingly slumping back to his apartment and staring at the front door. "Whatever happens tonight happens, got it?" Ashley's words replayed in his mind as he gripped the handle of his door, taking in a deep breath as he pushed it open and walked inside.

As he entered, the alluring aroma of freshly cooked food wafted over Alex. The boy looked over to his kitchen to see Ashley finishing up a feast of a meal. Her make up was on point as she wore a form fitting black dress.

"You made all this?" Alex asked her, taking in a nervous gulp.

"I had help," Ashley smiled at him, looking over to the left where a dolled up Madison came out from the cover of the fridge.

Madison's face turned many shades of red as she looked to Alex and waved to him, "Hey… Alex."

"What are… you two up to?" Alex questioned.

"Exactly what you and I discussed earlier," Ashley smiled at him, walking up to him with one hand reached out. Alex's heart swelled as she approached, only for her to walk completely passed him and grab her bag before swinging it over her shoulder. "Which means, I need to be going." She winked at Madison and Alex, "have fun you two."

Alex stood there in silence as Ashley walked out the front door, locking it behind her before dropping the spare key through the mail slot. Alex turned back to Madison and spoke up only once Ashley's footsteps faded and could no longer be heard.

"M-Madison…" he muttered, walking towards her, "did Ash blackmail you into doing this?"

"No.. she and I just talked a few things over," Madison shook her head. "And after that long, heated discussion that should have come a lot sooner… I realized one thing," she looked to him, a smile appearing on her face, "that I.. still kind of.. like you."

Alex smiled back her, taking hold of her hand as he sat himself down at the kitchen counter, "I still kind of like you too."

"Do me a favor though, promise not to run out on me the next time things get tough?" Madison asked, raising a brow at him, "and no more sleeping with my friends?"

"I swear," Alex placed his hand on his chest, "I am done running away. You hear me?"

Madison smiled at him with tears in her eyes. Reaching forward to cup his cheeks, she placed a single kiss on his lips. "Thank you… Alex," she muttered, holding his hand as she pulled away from him, "that was all I ever wanted to hear from you."

The next morning, Alex, Cole and Tara rolled up to a tall building lined top to bottom with opaque glass. Alex was alone on the X-Cyclone while Cole and Tara were together on the Rock Prowler.

"You sure this is the place?" Cole asked as Tara hopped off the back of his bike and stretched her legs.

"Only way to find out," Alex told him as they both climbed off their bikes.

It was moments later that Ashley rolled up on a deep blue ATV modeled after her rider form, the All Terrain Shifter.

She smirked at Alex, "Morning lover boy. Is that a hickey or a bruise on your neck?"

Alex couldn't help but laugh at this, "Good morning to you to Ash." He raised a brow at her, "aren't you a bit late though?"

"Had to pick up the ice queen," Ash pointed over her shoulder as Shiore climbed off the back of her ATV.

"And Carter?" Alex asked, the red rider landing beside him the moment he asked. "Oh… guess that's everyone then." He motioned towards the door to the building, "let's head in."

Ashley eyed Shiore, sharply swallowing as the ice rider matched her glance with one of confusion. "Sorry," Ashley spoke, "random question but would you maybe like to grab a coffee or whatever after this?"

Shiore simply blinked at her, then respectfully shook her head, "Sorry. Your offer is appreciated… but I am simply not that way."

Ash simply shrugged, "Alright, just thought I'd ask. What with everyone else being paired off already."

"Not everyone," Shiore motioned her eyes over to Carter.

Ashley eyed Carter, thinking about it for a moment then laughing at Shiore, "Maybe… but I think I'll be taking a break from men for a while." She said as she climbed off her ATV, smiling at Shiore once again. "Though I'd still like to hang with you after. As friends though, I swear."

"Friends?..." Shiore questioned, her hand clenching in preparation for the agonizing pulse she thought was coming only to realize that it wasn't after a moment. Staring at Ashley for an uncomfortably long time, she nodded her head, "that would be… nice." She told her.

All the riders clustered around a pair of white doors at the front with a buzzer and a speaker. Alex helding down the button, then spoke into it. "Joel, we're here."

There was a long pause before Joel's cold tone of voice echoed through the speaker. "Come in." The doors automatically opened to a stark white room without any other doors, hallways or basic detailing. It was completely blank.

"Welcoming," Ash cracked a small chuckle as the group entered, the doors slamming behind them.

"Proceed down the main hallway," Joel's voice echoed from a speaker on the ceiling as the wall opposite the door split open to reveal a long hallway made up of rooms exactly like the one they were in. The only white room that was different was the one on the very end which had a simple wooden door on the end of it.

Tara smirked, eyeing Cole, "Shall we play a game?" she said, nudging her boyfriend in the arm with her own.

The group proceeded down the hall, Alex taking hold of the doorknob. He was about to turn it when suddenly he felt the whole room shift. The way they came closed and all the riders suddenly felt as though they were being lifted off the ground.

"Guess we're going up," Cole muttered as the room stopped moving and the door Alex held swung open.

With a momentary pause, the riders entered the now open door that lead to a rather normal and rustic office space. Well furnished and smelling of coffee and cigarette smoke, with books and litter scattered throughout. The only thing that seemed even remotely out of the ordinary was the wall of monitors just to the left of the door.

Alex took notice of this but chose instead to focus on the desk opposite the door where Joel sat with his back to them staring out an large panoramic window that took up the entire back wall.

"Joel?" Alex spoke, he and Cole and Tara sitting down on somewhat fancy office chairs in front of Joel's desk. Carter, Ashley and Shiore however didn't sit down. The former two stood in place, their gaze fixed on Joel while Shiore stared at the monitors. "Are we late?"

"Actually, you are right on time," Joel spoke as he turned to face the riders, looking each of them in the eye. "Now then, shall we get down to business?"

Alex nodded, Ashley looking at him and taking a step forward. "Look, I get the whole talking in private thing… but what was so damn secret that you couldn't tell Alex when you met with him yesterday?"

"A precaution, to ensure Vainglory could not interrupt us," Joel told her with a heavy sigh. "Sorry if this situation inconveniences you at all, but since he cannot materialize himself in a location he has never seen I had to bring you all here."

"You… fear this Vainglory that much?" Shiore asked, her gaze still fixed on the monitors.

"Fear him? Certainly not," Joel returned, his gaze shifting to the ice rider. "If I truly wanted to, I could end him in an instant. My power is far greater than his could ever hope to be, it always has been."

"Wait a minute, hold up!" Tara chimed in, holding her hand up. "If you're stronger than him, why not end this whole thing yourself?"

Joel simply glanced at Tara, "Thea… don't you think I would have already if it were that easy?"

"He has something on… doesn't he?" Cole asked, holding Tara's hand.

Joel stared at Cole for a moment then nodded. He then turned his gaze to Alex, "That's why Alex, you are the only one who can do it."

"Then tell me what I need to do, and I'll do it," Alex told him, not even flinching for a second.

"Very well then," Joel leaned back in his seat. "A few days from now, at 3:30 am on the morning of November 17th there is going to be an eclipse. This city will hang between the sun and the moon, and it is then that Vainglory will open the gate into another plane of existence."

"Whoa! Hang on a sec!" Ash raised her hand and brow, "There's a gate now? Where is it? And do we need keys to unlock it?"

"The gate is right in front of you, as are the four keys," he told Ashley.

"Oh are they now?" Ashley crossed her arms with a grin, "Then how about you-" she stopped, making eye contact with each of the five riders, "wait a minute… you mean?"

Joel nodded, "The elemental memories, Yuki, Gale, Rock and Ryu-O. Those are the keys."

"Then that means," Ashley locked eyes with Alex.

Joel nodded once again, the six riders falling silent as they all drew the same conclusion. "Xtreme is the gate."

"So we'll roll up to Vainglory and drive him into the dirt!" Tara boasted with a smirk, punching the palm of her hand. "Fight as one and all that jazz, ya?"

This got a smirk from Ashley and Cole, while Carter, Alex and Shiore still looked worried. Alex and Joel exchanged a glance before the META commander let out a troubled sigh.

"Sorry Thea, but I will not allow any of the keys to fall into Jason's despicable hands," he told her, avoiding looking her in the eye. "When Alex faces him, the boy will need to do it alone."

Alex's eyes shot open, gasping at the idea, "H-How do you expect me to do that?!"

"My thoughts exactly," Cole looked to Joel, patting Alex on the shoulder. "Joel, was it? The Xtreme memory won't work without Tara, Shiore, Carter and myself present. We'd sending Alex in to die if we let him go it alone."

Joel glared at Cole, holding his head before huffing in frustration. "I see…" he rose to his feet, turning his back to the riders as he walked over to the large window. "If Alex does not face him alone.. then it seems Vainglory has already won."

"Joel…" Alex spoke after a sharp gulp, sinking a bit into his seat, "what exactly will happen if we wait until after the eclipse to fight him?"

"If you do not go him, he will surely find you," Joel told him, keeping his back turned to the riders. "Whichever ones happens, that's for you to decide. Keep in mind… I cannot guarantee what will happen to this world once Jason leaves it for his."

Tara glared at Joel, "Well, thats alot of deep shit ain't it?" She said coldly as she rose to her feet and stared down Joel, "kinda makes you wish you took care of him a lot sooner doesn't it, father?" her gaze sharpened into a glare as her tone sharpened. "Ya, I know who you are. Its Tara by the way."

"I know you know…" Joel muttered, reaching into his pocket and gripping his Inertia memory. "Sorry, Tara… and I already gave you my reasons."

"So is that reason fear of the guy or just your own damn laziness?!" Tara snarled, "either way, it sounds that the name Inertia fits you pretty damn well. Doesn't it dad?"

"I did what I had to…" Joel said back, gritting his teeth, "it was the only way."

"MY ASS IT WAS THE ONLY WAY!" Tara barked, slamming her fist down on the desk to the shock of everyone else. "You abandoned your own daughter!" She sniffled, tears beginning to run down her face, "And now you have the balls to tell me I need to stand by and allow one of my friends to be killed! Who the hell even are you?!"

"I am…" Joel muttered to himself, tightly gripping the memory he held in his pocket. "I am…."

"Inertia!"

Before she could so much as blink, Tara felt a sharp pain plunge through her stomach. Looking down with a tremble, she saw spiked thendral running through her midsection. Her entire body quivered, looking up to the pale white skull face of Inertia standing only inches away from her. The tendril which stabbed through Tara was connected to Inertia's wrist, acting like a blade.

"Father…" a tear ran down her face, "why?"

Tara burst into dust, all of which swarmed onto Inertia along with the wind rider's yellow aura. "I'm sorry Tara.. there was no other way."

Alex sat there watching in horror as this happened. He shot to his feet, Star and Runner memories in hand only to be back handed by Inertia with enough force to throw him into the far wall made up of bookcases. Shiore gasped at this, going to move only for the floor to open up from under her, closing after it had swallowed her into the black void.

"YOU BASTARD!" Roared Cole and Carter in unison, grabbing their respective gaia memories on instinct.

"ROCK! RYU-O!" cried their drivers as the pair changed into their respective rider forms and dove towards Inertia, Rock pulling his hammer from his shoulder while Ryu-O summoned his sword with a snap of his fingers.

Rock threw his hammer at Inertia with everything he had while Ryu-O swung right for the dopant's head. Before either of them could land their strike however, a second tendril grew out from Inertia's other wrist and he used them both as a pair of whips to thrash the two riders back and into the same wall as Alex.

Alex winced, climbing to his feet only for Carter to hold his hand over him. "Stay down Xtreme," Ryu-O told him with a snarl, gripping his sword as he stared down Inertia, "this fight is ours."

"You go left, I'll go right," Rock told Carter, the fire rider acknowledging this with a nod. Rock and Ryu-O charged weapons in hand while Inertia simply scoffed.

"Too easy," he said as he raised his whip bearing arms.

"Those idiots," Ashley gritted her teeth from where she stood, activating her driver.

"SHIFT!" Her belt roared as she donned her rider form, raising her hands to Inertia before closing them into fists.

Inertia's whole being tightened the moment Ashley closed her fists, the dopant gasping slightly as his eyes turned to stare down the water rider.

"I will admit this, Shift. I forgot to take you into account," Inertia told her as his tendrils began to move on their own, growing further and further beyond his wrist. The whips lashed at both Carter and Cole, throwing them into the wall of monitors this time. "No matter, your presence changes little in my eyes."

"ASHLEY!" Alex called out to her from the floor, "get out of here!"

"FUCK NO!" Ashley barked at him, tightening her grasp on Inertia, "I'm not leaving after what I just saw him do to Tara!"

"I wouldn't waste time holding that trivial act against me, you'll be joining her shortly," Inertia told her, aiming his tendrils at Carter and Cole. "And those to, shall be next."

Cole and Carter gritted their teeth as they rose to their feet, Alex feeling his heart sink as he locked eyes with Cole.

"Just try it you bastard!" Cole snarled, gripping his hammer as he and Carter got ready to charge again.

Inertia huffed at them, glaring almost boredly at the two. He cracked his tendril once again at a speed almost impossible to see, destroying the window that lined the back wall before re-aiming his tendrils upon Carter and Cole.

"If you insist," Inertia said in a colder tone than before, hurling his tendrils at the pair at the same speed as his previous display of power.

The moment his tendrils landed their strike however, Inertia starred with eyes widened in the slightest of shock as Shift's warglaives dropped to the floor in front of Carter and Cole. Alex trembled as there, standing between Inertia and the other two riders with the dopants spiked tendrils driven deep into the palms of her still armored hands, was Ashley.

"Hey asshole…" Ashley managed a laugh, her whole body shaking as parts of her were already beginning to break apart into dust, "you missed."

Inertia glared harder at her, sucking his teeth as Ashley burst completely into the same dust Tara had with her own navy blue aura rushing into him.

"BLAST! RUNNER!" Alex's driver roared as he donned a gun wielding variant of his default rider form.

"DAMN YOU!" Cried Alex, aiming his corona blaster at Inertia and firing off an entirely clip.

Inertia, now free of Ashley's grasp was able to smack away each shot from Alex into the four walls around him. He was about to breath out a huff of mental defeat when a sudden sound to his right caught the dopant's gaze.

"ROCK! MAXIMUM DRIVE!" He turned instantly, catching the fully charged blade of the axe mode Cole's Rock Smasher, staring into the rage filled glare that could be felt through the visor of Cole's helmet.

"Don't you dare..-" Cole breathed, pushing down on his axe as he tried to cut through Inertia with everything he had, "forget about me!"

"Ah, the boyfriend," Inertia spoke, looking Cole in the eye. "I knew you would be could for my Tara… but you seem to forget who it was that gave you the power you now hold." He tightened his grip on the blade in his hand, shattering it along with the rest of the Rock Smasher.

"WHAT?!" Cole gasped, Inertia bringing his knee up to strike the earth rider in the gut.

Inertia's attack was about to connect when Carter dashed over using the thrusters on his feet and palms and grabbed Cole to get him out of the way. Landing beside Alex, Carter looked with one eye to Cole and patted him on the shoulder.

"Hey Cole, you alright?" Carter asked with a heavy breath.

Cole nodded then sharply swallowed, "Down, but far from out."

"Then the both of you need to use your full power," Alex told the both of them. "No matter what, we can't allow him to leave this room."

With a snarl and a nod, Cole and Carter stared down Inertia as did Alex as he gripped his blaster. "Glad we're all on the same page." Carter said, he and Cole pulling out their Phoenix and Biter memories.

"Oh, I will not be leaving this room," Inertia told them, hitting a key on the terminal built into his desk, "you three will."

Before the three riders could so much as move, the floor beneath them opened up just as it did for Shiore and swallowed them into the abyss below. Once they had fallen through, Inertia hit the same button to close the floor up again.

"Finally… some quiet," Inertia sighed coldly, looking over the monitors behind him. "Lets see, how is the other one doing?"

He hit another button, a scene of Shiore in her Yuki standing in the middle of blank white room coming onto all of the monitors. She was turned to the point that Inertia could see her from, as if looking directly at him. Without one single word, she pulled out a kunai knife and threw it at the camera that was watching her. Inertia did not so much as flinch as the feed went to static.

"All the pieces are in place then," he looked to his arm, the blue and yellow aura of Ashley and Tara he already consumed swirling in the palm of his hand. "Whoever wins this, shall decide the fate of the world."

{Insert ending theme: "One" by Altima}

**Next time on Kamen Rider Ultimate Xtreme**

Locked in a building with no way out, the remaining riders fight for their lives against Inertia.

What does the META commander hope to achieve from all this?

All will be decided when Kamen Rider Ultimate Xtreme continues in

**Episode 41: Inertia's True Colors**

_Xtreme, push yourself to the Maximum!_


	8. Episode 41: Inertia's True Colors

**Episode 41: Inertia's True Colors**

Alex sat awake at his desk the previous night, his hands on face and the grey memory with Madison's name on it on the desk in front of him. Beside Madison's memory sat the copies of the Vainglory and Violet memories that Vega had given him, the flicker of the desk lamp Alex had on to see the trio of them not being of help to the strain on his eyes. A small wince came from the bed only a few feet away from him, the squinting Madison looking up from where she slept to turn her gaze towards the glow that had woken her.

"Alex?" She asked with a yawn, checking her phone which read 5:30 AM. "The sun isn't even up right… what are you doing awake?"

"I couldn't sleep…" he told her, "I have a lot on my mind… about to tomorrow."

"Still the nervous wreck you always were I see," Madison managed a small grin as she got up with only her pink silk nightgown covering her. She made her way over to Alex, sitting down at the end of the bed before wrapping her arm around him and kissing his cheek, "I could come with you tomorrow, if you want me too."

Alex took gently hold of one of Madison's hands, giving it a tender kiss before shaking his head at her. "We're just gonna be talking business tomorrow," he said as he looked her in the eye. "I'll give you full access to the place tomorrow until I get back. It will far more enjoyable than where I'm going."

Madison frowned, "Alex," she muttered as her heart sank into her stomach, "I want to be able to help you… you know that, right?" She looked to the desk, raising a brow, "what exactly are you working on anyway?"

"I was hoping to have something to show Inertia… but I have been able to come up with much," Alex huffed, picking up the copied Violent and Vainglory memories. "A pair of riders passed through our city last week, Split and Vega… Vega gave me these two gaia memories, but I'm still not sure what to use them for."

"Have you tested them in your belt?" Madison asked.

Alex shook his head, "I don't trust them."

"I see….." Madison eyed the memory with her name on it, "and that one… that's how I remembered you, isn't it?"

Alex nodded, "That one.. I did test in my driver. But it didn't do anything. It seems to be drained of its power."

"Makes sense.. since I know who you are and all." Madison got up with a stretch, patting Alex on the back, "Well, I think I need a shower. You gonna keep cracking at it?"

Alex nodded then yawned, "Just for a bit longer."

"Alright," Madison kissed him on the cheek then headed to the door. She pulled it open, then turned back to him with a smile, "By the way… you're free to join me once you're done."

Alex smiled back at her, "I probably will."

"Then I'll see you in a bit, Superstar," she winked at him, closing the door on her way out.

After a moment of silence, the room filled with the hum of running water that acted to give Alex's mind a small bit of clarity.

"Wait a minute…" he grabbed Madison's memory and flipped it over, finding a pair of screws at the back of the device which he quickly undid and pulled it apart.

Once it was opened, he was greeted to the sight of a pair of blinking red power cells tethered to the circuits of the memory itself. Gasping a bit, he quickly undid the Vainglory and Violent memories and found power cells that were solid green. The boy put two and two together then grabbed a cell from each of the two dismantled memories and connected them to their circuits of Madison's memory.

Once he had put it back together, the vibrant pink color of Madison's then dull grey memory began to return. In response to this, Alex's jaw fell open, "... No way."

{Insert opening theme: "Alones" by Aqua Timez}

"You just LET them go with telling me anything?!" Marcoh screamed at Marcoh on the phone as he stood in the kitchen of his apartment. "I don't care what the boy said, I don't trust any of those META sacks of crab as far as I could throw them!" It was 11:45, five minutes before Tara and Ashley would be taken down by Inertia.

"Marcoh, I know it's stupid… but I'm going to trust Alex on this one," Sampson's voice called out from the other end. "He said he was just going to talk, nothing else. I don't know this Joel person very well, but he seems to want Vainglory out of the way just as much as we do."

Marcoh let out a heavy huff, gripping his hand into a tight fist, "And you aren't gonna budge on that opinion, are you?"

"I trust Alex with my life," Sampson told him, "and so should you."

"I'll give him four hours, if I don't hear back from him I'm calling up everyone I can and moving in." Marcoh hung up the phone, punching the wall before heading into the living room where Rylee sat still cuffed to the chair.

Rylee glared at him as he hung up the phone, "That your boyfriend?" She said in a harsh judgemental tone.

"My boss, actually," Marcoh glared at her. "And just for the record, my former partner? He and I broke up quite some time ago."

Rylee instantly regretted her words, shooting a glare at feet. "Sorry… I didn't know…" she looked back up to Marcoh.

"I wouldn't expect you too, it was all a long time ago." He said in a harsh as he placed a plate of food in front of Rylee. "He and I always talked about adopting a girl… but in the end, he never actually wanted one."

Rylee smirked then laughed, "Guess that's one similarity between the two of us."

Marcoh glared at her as he sat down in front of her, "Alright, you have five seconds to explain your insane comparison before I take you into the station."

Rylee kept her smirk up as she looked Marcoh in the eye, "You think you're the only one to have loved and lost, officer?"

**SWITCH IN POV: First Person - Rylee**

My sister always got exactly what she wanted. It's for that very reason that I always respected her. That being said, all these years later I can still recall the morning where it all went wrong. I was in high school, third year and as always I was up early making breakfast for the two of us while my sister slept in.

"SIS!" I called up to her as I set the kitchen table, "Come down and eat!"

"I'm coming!" I heard her call down from above.

With a trip and a tumble, there she was. With her perfect chestnut hair, slender waste, curved hips and perky bust, my sister entered the kitchen and began forking down the meal I had slaved over to make.

I glared at her, then smirked, "You're gonna choke like that you know."

My sister frantically nodded, swallowing as she noticed a scrap of paper. "Hey! Whats that?!" she called out, reaching for the paper only for me to swipe it just in time.

"None of your business," I said with a noticeable blush.

"It's a love letter, isn't it?" My sister smirked. "Somebody in our class?"

"If I tell you, will swear not to tell anyone?" I asked her simply.

"On my life," she placed her hand over her heart.

I whispered to her, her face lighting up in response. "Oh he's a catch! I'd move fast if I were you. I hear a lot of girls have there eye on a scholar like him."

I glared at her, "what's it to you?"

"Oh, nothing," she cooed in that sweet innocent way she always did. She looked at me, raising a brow, "Didn't leave anything direct, did you?"

I blushed harder, "Define direct?"

"Something like… if you feel the same, meet in room two zero four at three thirty-five today?" She suggested. "Guys won't admit it, but they love it when you give them simple and direct instructions."

"Okay…" I thought this over, eyeing my letter, "but once I'm in the room with him… what do I say?"

"I think that's something for you to decide," my sister sang, poking my cheek while maintaining her grin. "Now come on, you don't want to be late do you?"

I looked up at the clock, my eyes shooting open before I erupted in a roar. "OH SHIT!"

We hustled out the door, my heart eternally racing faster and faster from the first bell of the school day to the last. In my flurry of emotions I had found myself hustling down to fourth room on the second floor of the building at three forty-one. I was following the plan, but several minutes behind schedule.

"Please be there," I muttered between pants exhaustion and jitters nerve as I darted down the hall, grinning ear to ear like the wide eyed innocent and hopelessly naive girl I was. I reached the door to the room which was thankfully still unlocked. "Jason?! Are you here?!" I called into the room as I swung the door open.

Being the hopelessly naive girl I was, I expected him to be standing there ready to embrace me like some cheesy highschool romance film. However, what awaited me was an image I will never forget. Standing there in the room, with her disgusting lips locked to the object of my affection… was my own sister.

Standing there, grin faded and heart broken, I simply mutter. "... Alice?"

What followed however made me sick in the moment, but now it just makes me laugh. Pulling her lips from Jason, my sister looked to me with the fakest sad look I had seen in my life.

"Sorry Rylee…" she almost whimpered, "I warned you a lot of girls had their eye on him, didn't?"

As I told you before, my sister always got exactly what she wanted. That's the reason why… I always hated her.

**SWITCH IN POV: Third person - Omniscient**

"You hated your sister for stealing Jason Darwin of all people?" Marcoh looked at her with disgust. "You're clearly deranged."

"Call it what you will," Rylee glared back at him, "I'll follow my lord until my dying breath."

Marcoh raised a brow, "even after your sisters death?

"If my lord had ordered me to," Rylee looked him dead in the eye, "I would gladly done it myself."

Upon hearing those words, Marcoh shot to his feet and pulled Rylee up by the collar of her shirt. "Say one more word," he glared her in the eye, "and I swear I'll-"

"You'll what? You'll kill me?" Rylee smirked at him, meeting his gaze with a laugh. "I'd like to see you try."

With a huff Marcoh violently threw Rylee back into her seat, "Sounds to me like the name Spite fits more than I thought. I see why it was that memory that chose you."

"Spite didn't choose me," Rylee told him as she looked out the window, "I chose Spite."

"You moved on from that though, didn't you?" Marcoh asked her. "You found a husband and had two kids. Or was all that just a fib as well?"

"I married, that's true… but it was nothing but a loveless farce. I only did it because Jason ordered me too," Rylee told him with yet another laugh, a tear running down her face. "Besides, the man I married turned out to be a monster. I doubt he could ever love anyone, save for himself."

"And Tara and Carter?" Marcoh asked her, gritting his teeth to contain his anger. "Do your own children mean nothing to you too?"

"If I told you that they did…" Rylee looked him in eye once again, "would you release me?"

"Alex?" an echoed voice called out to the boy as he stared into a dark void. "Alex, come on! Wake up! We need you!"

Alex sharply gasped, his eyes opening to find himself laying on the floor of a stark white room with Cole kneeling above him.

"Oh thank goodness!" Cole breathed, hugging Alex tightly as he pulled the boy up, "I thought we lost you too."

"I'm okay…" Alex let out a breath of his own as he hugged Cole back, noticing the heavy tremor of each breath his friends took as he did so. "Just barely."

His eyes surveyed the room, noticing Carter standing on left side with his hand clenched to the blank featureless wall, Shiore meanwhile knelt gripping her sword by the wall on the right. They were both in their base rider form but had a vastly different energy to them. Shiore looked as though she was deep in thought, or a highly meditative state. Carter meanwhile gritted his teeth and almost snarled when Alex woke up.

"Alex.." Carter spoke, balling the hand he held against the wall into a fist, "why the hell did you have us come here?!"

"Carter," Cole glared at him, "there was no way to know-"

Carter shot a ball of fire at Alex and Cole, the blast whooshing right by the pair and striking the wall behind them. This shut Cole up instantly as Carter turned to look Alex in the eye. Shiore meanwhile watched as the Carter fire blast left nothing more than a scorch mark on the wall it hit, the mark itself fading after a moment as if it was never there in the first place.

"Say another word like that…" Carter growled, aiming his open had at the two male riders, "and the next one will hit you."

"CARTER!" Cole shot to his feet, "You think you're the only shaken up by this?!"

"I don't care," Carter scoffed, "Tara trusted Xtreme, and now she's dead because of it!"

This statement made Alex's heart shattered, the boy sitting there as his entire being shook from the thought Carter placed in his mind. Before Carter could say another word, Cole threw a punch into the fire rider's lower jaw that was strong enough to throw Carter into the back wall.

"One more word like that, and I'll break that jaw of yours," Cole glared at Carter, cracking his knuckles as Carter glared back at him while holding his jaw, "got that?"

In the blink of an eye, Cole took a step back as Shiore suddenly appeared between him and Carter with a blur to her step and her sword aimed to Cole's chest.

"Stop it," she told Cole in her usual ice cold tone, "this is exactly what he wants."

"She's right you two…" Alex said, swallowing his emotions as he stood himself up. "We can't be fighting among ourselves, or none of us are going to get out of here."

The three others riders looked to Alex with a contemplative glance, a glance that was only broke when the wall behind Carter opened up into a long hallway made up of even more countless white rooms. Carter narrowed stared down the hall, then got up and proceeded to start down it.

"Wait!" Alex called out to him, causing Carter to stop dead in his tracks. "We need a plan first."

"I have one," he glared back at Alex over his shoulder. "Find Inertia, then cut off his head." He snapped his fingers, summoning the Ryu-O Buster in a burst of fire before resting it on his shoulder. "Follow me or don't, the choice is yours."

Carter continued to march down the hall, Shiore glancing over to Carter then back to Alex and Cole. After a moment she turned on her heel to follow Carter without a word. The moment she had fully crossed the line on the floor that divided the room she once stood in from the rest of the hall, the open wall that had allowed them through closed with a sudden woosh and a clang.

Shiore jumped, taking a step away from the now closed wall as Carter kept his gaze forward.

"So it is a trap," he gripped his sword tighter as he scanned the hall with his eyes. "We know you're here! Come up and die with dignity you worm!"

With a hiss from the other end of the hall, the wall opened up and Inertia stepped through, the wall closing back up behind him.

"So my son," Inertia spoke closely as he walked towards Carter and Shiore, "You wish to kill me?"

"More than you know," Carter snarled, a spiral of flames engulfing the blade of his sword.

"Perfect… then I no longer need to restrain myself…" Inertia returned with the same cold monotone, the bone white color of his armor darkening to a worn sickly grey while the once vibrant blue shifted to a malevolent shade of violet. A matching pair of feathered wings sprouted from his back as blood red tendrils sprouted from the gaps in his pauldrons and a ruined cloak of the same color unfurled from his back.

"So that's your true form, is it?" Carter asked while gritting his teeth.

"You did not truly believe I commanded META in the form you saw before, did you?" said Inertia with a simple look, "this is the face, of the true Inertia."

"Fight me in whichever form you want," Carter told him, pulling out his Phoenix memory, "you will die either way."

Shiore starred at Carter, her hand automatically drifting to grab her own Shira memory.

"Stay out of this," Carter told her as he replaced his Ryu-O memory with Phoenix, "its my fight now."

Carter spun his driver, the device engulfing him in a howling twister of fire. "PHOENIX!"

In the empty living room of Alex's apartment, a long shadow began to move out from the wall and towards the center of the floor. As the shadow came out, so did the head of Vainglory with his whole body coming out moments later.

"So… he isn't here after all…" Vainglory said with a huff as he surveyed the room, taking not of the clutter on the couch and coffee table as well as the television that was paused on a romance film. Among the clutter on the table, he found a framed photograph of Alice smiling sweetly at the photographer.

"Oh… my darling Alice… look at where your mistake has gotten you..." Vainglory's voice cracked, his helmet unfurling to reveal his poorly kept face as he picked up the photo with a trembling hand. "Buried among garbage, and a son who cares not to dust your frame."

Vainglory dusted off the frame then grinned. "No matter, soon I will make it right… we shall be one once again. I am almost there, so please… wait just a bit longer my love." His lip quivered as a single tear ran down his cheek.

A creek in the floor nearby caused Vainglory's gaze to shift over the kitchen where Madison stood behind the counter pointing a large knife towards him.

"W-Who the hell are you?" she said with a glare in her eyes and a tremor to her grip.

Vainglory met her gaze, shooting a glare of his own back to her as his helmet formed back over his face. "I should ask you the same question," he said, tucking the photo under his arm as he walked towards Madison with his towering stature. "Madison Tyler, I take it?"

"Al- Xtreme isn't here!" she barked at him, continuing to aim the knife at Vainglory as he drew closer towards her. "Now get out!"

With a good swing of her arm, she slashed the knife across Vainglory's chest only for the blade to crack and shatter to bits from the mere contact of his armor. Madison gasped, dropping the handle of the knife to the floor. Vainglory's haunting red eyes remained locked on Madison as the chill of his slow but heavy breathing filled the air like the growl of a beast.

"I will… Ms Tyler," he muttered, flaring out his free hand as he looked down to her, "after I am done what I came here to do."

Madison looked him dead in the eye, gritting her teeth, "And just what in the hell would that be?!"

Madison's voice choked within an instant, the girl finding herself suspended above the floor with Vainglory's hand gripped tightly around her throat. "A message… to that bastard child who believes he is mine…"

As Vainglory tightened his grip, Madison began squirm violently, balling her hands into fists and hurling weak punch after weaker punch at the dopant that held her as she desperately gasped for air. In spite of the fight she put up, Vainglory maintained his hold on the girl who's life he now held in his hand. He tightened his grasp further, pausing only when he noticed smoke beginning to rise from the hand he held her with. The dopant gasped, releasing his grip and dropping her to the floor.

"When he returns, tell him of what happened here," Vainglory spoke, turning on his heel and throwing the now empty picture frame to the floor with the glass shattering and covering the floor. Madison coughed violently, holding her throat as she tried to catch her breath. "The twenty fourth floor, Eighty-Six Eighty-Six Dead End Drive. On the morning of November 17th I will be waiting for him there."

"You have a death wish!" Madison coughed as she forced herself up, "You know that?!"

Vainglory looked down to the girl on the floor for one a single moment more then looked away from her. "No…" he said as he began to sink into the shadows on the floor, "my only wish is to fix this broken world."

Within an instant, Vainglory submerged into the floorboards of Alex's apartment then re-emerged within the shadows of his lair. Stumbling forward with his teeth gritted and fist tightly clenched, he collapsed into his throne and ripped his gaia memory from the driver strapped to his waist returning him to his human form.

Raising his clenched fist, he opened it and his suspicions were confirmed. The skin on the hand he used to grab Madison's throat had been burned away leaving not even the muscle beneath unscathed. Clenching his fist back up and holding it with his other hand, Jason slammed his fists down and threw himself into the backrest of his throne.

"SPITE!" he roared into the shadows of his lair, "WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU?!" To Jason's cry, only silence answered. Jason sat there, puzzled as he rose from his seat and called out again. "SPITE?! ANSWER ME!"

Upon his second call, the door to his lair opened allowing a small crack of light to rush in as Rylee stepped through and slowly approached Jason with a broad shouldered stride.

"Forgive me my lord," she bowed before kneeling to Jason, "what is it you require?"

"The eclipse is only days away," he muttered, not even looking in Rylee's general direction, "are all the preparations in place?"

"Yes my lord," Rylee told him, "everything is going according to plan."

"And what of Inertia?" Jason grunted, resting his head on the back of his hand, "where on earth has he disappeared to now?"

"During the battle between Crave the riders and the two enigmas, Inertia turned on us," Rylee bowed her head. "He aided the riders, and was executed by my hand for treason. Forgive me, I should have informed you sooner."

"Do not apologize to me Spite," Jason let out a heavy disappointed sigh, "so long as you do not betray me, or attempt to deceive me in anyway. That is the only thing I need until the dream Alice and I once shared-" he closed his eyes and shed a tear, "- is finally realized."

"Have no fear my lord," Rylee smirked, raising her head as her calm red eyes shifted into a piercing yellow, "I only live to fulfil your desire."

Within the stark white hallway, Carter cut through six of Inertia's tendrils seconds before diving out of the path of another and firing a bright blue blast of fire to burn the tendral to a crisp. Every move he made was in the effort to get closer to Inertia while the dopant that opposed him hadn't moved an inch, guarded by the barrier of thorn covered tendrils that were connected to his wrists and pauldrons. As Carter cut down each Tendril, it would repair itself within seconds.

Inertia stared down Carter, his gaze shifting to Shiore after a moment who still stood sword in hand by the wall opposite Inertia. Without a single word of warning from Inertia, the dopant sent one of his pauldron mounted tendrils hurling in Shiore's direction at high speed. The ice rider noticed this and raised her sword to slice it before it touched her.

Just before the tendril made its mark however, Carter cleaved five tendrils that surrounded him before rushing over to Shiore and sliced the tendril aimed at her cleanly in half. With a snarl and gritted teeth, Carter set his claymore a blaze with blue fire before hurling it at Inertia with a heavy spin to it.

The moment his sword was released from Carter's grasp, all of Inertia's tendrils retracted into him and he leapt out of the burning blade's path just in time for it to strike and embed itself in the wall behind where the dopant had previously stood.

"This is between you and me!" Carter snapped his fingers, the Phoenix King Blade bursting to flames on the wall before reappearing in Carter's clenched fist. "If you so much as touch her-" he glared, "I'll kill you!"

"So… were you not aiming to kill me before?" Inertia looked him, speaking to him as coldly as ever. "Though if you do…" he raised his hand and opened it up fully, the aura he had absorb forming into a pair of gems in the palm of his hand, one yellow and the other navy blue, "what becomes of them?"

"What are you trying to pull now?" Carter demanded, aiming his blade at his foe.

"Your sister and that other girl, they still live within me… for now," Inertia told him. "However, if my gaia memory ceases to maintain operation, the space where they reside will collapse.. and they will die." Inertia narrowed his gaze at Carter, "So kill me, or release them… which will it be, my son?"

Carter glared at him, "What's stop me from forcing you to releasing them and then killing you?"

"You ability to kill is known to me, son," Inertia told him, "if you were able to kill me however… surely, you would have already."

Shiore watched Carter from where he stood frozen for what seemed like an eternity, only for her heart to sink as the fire rider lowered his sword.

"What would I have to do…" Carter spoke with a ferm voice, eyes still glaring at Inertia, "to have you release them?"

"Lay down your sword," Inertia commanded, holding his open hand that contained the yellow and blue gems, "and come take my hand."

Carter's breath slowed with each passing second. Shiore bit her lip as she watched the fire rider from where she stood, only for the ice rider to gasp when he released his hold on the Phoenix King Blade's hilt and allowed it to drop to the floor.

"CARTER!" Shiore called out to him, only for the boy to shoot out his arm to her.

"Stay out of this!" He panted, keeping his gaze locked on Inertia as he took gradual steps towards his foe, "I know what I'm doing."

Inertia watched the boy, holding his hand further as Carter came to be only inches from his reach. Carter glanced down at Inertia, almost losing his breath as he stared into the glimmer of the two gems that were imbedded with the dopant's palm. Looking back up to meet Inertia's gaze, he placed his own hand over top of Inertia's.

Sharpening his gaze upon Inertia, Carter grabbed the dopants hand with one of his own before snapping his fingers with the other to call the Phoenix King Blade back into his grip. Not wasting a moment, Carter swung his sword down upon Inertia's wrist to sever it the palm he held the yellow and blue stones in from the rest of his body.

"Well done Carter…" Inertia spoke, remaining still has he raised his non-severed hand to him, opening it to show the yellow and blue stones embedded within it, "you have passed."

Carter gasped, opening the severed hand he held only for the two points he saw the stones in previously to shoot out into thorned tendrils and drive themselves through his gut and throat. As the thorns pierced his armor and skin, Carter began to tremble from head to toe.

He dropped his sword, gawking at Inertia with an increasingly unsteady gaze. The dopant himself however simply stared at him, entirely unphased by what he saw before him. Weakly and wordlessly, Carter stumbled towards Inertia while reaching his open hand out to grab him.

With a heavy sigh, Inertia took hold of Carter's hand with his own that remained. As the dopant's body repaired itself, Inertia gently held Carter's hand with both of his own.

"You care greatly for your sister… believe me my son, I know," he told him softly moments before Carter burst into dust that flowed with a red aura into Inertia. "Please, take care of her for me."

A red stone formed in the palm of Inertia's hand next to the blue and yellow ones. Inertia breathed out contently, only for Shiore to slash down upon him with her sword with Inertia blocking the attack at the last possible second.

"I was wondering when you'd step in," Inertia glared at her, "Ms. Shirayuki."

Shiore's gaze narrowed at him, "So, you know my name?"

"I know all sorts of things about," Slashing her with his wrist tendril only for her to shatter to pieces of ice. "As I figured," he scanned the room, blocking an attack to his back from Shiore with his shoulder mounted pauldrons. "Your lightning fast speed and ability to form ice into a mobile image of yourself," he glared at her, "a handy trick for dodging a hit.. but taxing on the body. If records serve me right, your maximum at any moment," he turned and slashed Shiore only for that image of her to break apart into ice once again, "is three."

"Your point being?" Her voice snarled as four images of Shiore surrounded him and aimed their swords to him.

"There are four of you, and I have eight tendrils," Inertia glared at the clones with the real Shiore mixed in, "which means that in time.. I will hit the real you."

In Marcoh's apartment, the officer glared at the clock while Rylee glared at him. He focus went undisturbed until his phone rang in his pocket causing him to jump before fishing it out.

"Alex's landline?" He questioned, reading off the caller ID before breathing a sigh of relief, "guess I really was worrying over nothing." He hit the green accept button then raised the phone to his ear, "Hey kiddo, how'd it go?"

"M-Marcoh?" Whimpered out Madison's weak voice followed by a fit of coughing, "is that you?"

"Tyler?" Marcoh questioned, raised his brow as an uneasy feeling caused his heart to clench, "where's Alex?"

"Hasn't come back right…" her voice trembled, "but I have to warn him. Someone's after him!"

Marcoh's heart skipped a beat, time seaming to slow down around him as he thought out his next words carefully "Who's after him?"

"His father…" Madison muttered, "He was here! I saw him, he tried to kill me but stopped for some reason-"

"Tyler! Listen to me!" Marcoh cut in, "Stay right where you are, I'm going to come get you. Do not open the door or answer the phone for anyone else until arrive. Do you understand me?"

"Yes…" Madison muttered, "I do…"

"Good, now sit tight. I'll be there shortly," Marcoh hung up the phone and shot a single glare to Rylee who at this point was looking out the window with her eyes closed.

With a huff, Marcoh walked over to a painting he had hung on the wall and pulled it down to reveal a safe behind it. With his body in front of it, Marcoh punched five zero seven four into the keypad, causing it to unlock and allowing Marcoh to open it. Among other valuables, inside were two dopant drivers at the back and Kat's Gorge memory up front with Rylee's Spite memory right next to it.

"I'll be back in a few hours," Marcoh told her, taking the Spite memory from the safe and placing it in his breast pocket. "Try anything, and I'll know. So unless you want to be thrown into a real prison, I advise you stay put. Got that?"

Rylee remained silent, resulting in a simple huff from Marcoh as he left the apartment and locking the door behind him.

"Five zero.." she muttered once she heard the door lock, her eyes opening into a glare as she eyed the safe in the wall, "seven four."

Back in the stark white hallway, Inertia slashed through three images Yuki only to have them all shattered into ice.

"Still hiding I see," Inertia muttered, his eyes turning behind him moment he heard the slightest echo of a single footstep behind him. The dopant raised his hand to catch Shiore's katana seconds before it made contact with his face. "You can certainly prevent yourself from being seen, but disappearing completely? That is something not even you are capable of."

Shiore sucked her teeth, kicking off Inertia and leaping back while chucking four kunai knives at Inertia only for them be smacked away by his tendrils.

"What's the matter?" He spoke, retracting his tendrils as he took a step forward narrowing his gaze upon Shiore. "You have a stronger form, why not use it?"

Shiore gritted her teeth, her arm pulsing sharply as the Shira memory released a slight chime that only the ice rider could hear. "I don't need it to defeat you!" She barked at him.

"You, do not need it?" Inertia raises a brow at her, "I believe you mean, it does not need you."

Shiore gritted her teeth, holding her arm as a slight beastly growl escaped her lips, "Shut your mouth!"

"The Shira memory is rejecting you, isn't it?" Inertia continued as he drew closer towards her. "Just how everyone else has rejected you. Including my own son," he shrugged.

"I SAID! SHUT YOUR MOUTH!" Shiore roared, running up to Inertia and leaping into the air. As she soared over him, she grabbed the top of his head with one hand and raised her sword to his throat with the other.

Running her blade through, she landed on the other side of Inertia's still standing body with his severed head gripped firmly in her hand.

"How bold of you…" he continued from the head she held. "Of course, I'm not that easy to kill."

Shiore's eyes darted toward the head she held, the ice rider tossing it to the wall and pinning it their with a quick throw of a kunai which drove itself deep in into Inertia's eye.

"How are you still alive?!" Shiore barked at him, raising her sword to his head.

"It is a curse placed upon me," The dopant told her, "The gaia memories of Desire, Vainglory, Spite, Gorge, Fury, Crave and Inertia embody the seven deadly sins. As each of us learned long ago, anyone who uses one of the seven tainted memories is denied the grace of death so long as the memory remains intact."

Shiore drove her sword in his other eye, "You expect me to buy that from me?" She said with a glare.

"Whether you do or not does not matter," Inertia told her from his head as his body began to move on its own, stepping gradually towards the ice rider from behind. "Now then, before you interrupted me.. why follow my son to the slaughter?"

"I have my reasons," she told him in a cold tone, "speaking of," she twisted her blade into his eye, "release him and the others. Right now!"

"Tara and Shift I understand, but Carter?" Inertia continued to speak, "After what he did to your clan? To your mother and father? To your brother?"

"He didn't do it," she glared at Inertia's severed head, "he told me himself!"

"And you believed him?" Inertia glanced at her, the hand of his body grasping at Shiore's throat. "Then you, Yuki…" he tightened his grip around her throat, "have failed."

{End of Part A}

{Start of Part B}

In Alex's apartment, police officers gathered around the perimeter while inside Sampson examined the shattered glass on the floor by the kitchen as two other officers checked over the windows. Marcoh held the still shaking Madison by her shoulder as he sat with her on the couch.

"So he just… rose up from the shadows and attacked you?" Sampson asked, looking over to the pair on the couch.

Madison nodded, holding her neck that still pulsed from the grasp of her assailant, "I felt like… if he held me there for a second longer… I would have died…" Her brow furled, "But then he stopped.. And I don't know why."

"Well whatever the reason, we need to notify the others and find that bastard," Marcoh spoke up, looking to Sampson, "Right chief?"

Sampson nodded, going to Alex's phone and calling his son's cell the moment he picked it up. He prepped to wait a few seconds, but gasped when the phone went right to a recorded message, "The number you have dialed is outside of service range, please hang up and try your call again."

"W-What the hell?" questioned Sampson.

"Something's happened to them, hasn't it?" Marcoh said with a glare, getting up from his seat.

Sampson looked to him and simply nodded, "By the looks of things…" He went to the door and grabbed his coat, slipping it over himself, "we have to go." He turned his gaze to Madison, "that means you as well Ms Tyler."

Madison blinked, "Me?" she asked, pointing to herself, "why do I need to go?"

"Because with the threat made on your life, I don't feel right leaving you alone," Sampson told her simply. "So I refuse to let you out of my sight until we find Alex and the others. Understand?"

"Right, I got it," she nodded, getting up from her seat. "So.. where are we going first?"

"My scanner last picked up their signals in the old metalworking district," Marcoh told her, "we'll be checking there first."

Back in the stark white hallways of Inertia's lab, Alex and Cole unloaded shot after shot upon the wall that divided them from Carter and Shiore. Alex was in his Blast Runner combination, firing lightning fast round after lightning fast round while Cole was in Bite with his wrist mounted gatling gun and shoulder mounted missile pods refusing to let up even as the risked overheated. Suddenly, amidst the constant firing from both their weapons came a loud hiss from the wall.

"Wait," Alex ceased his onslaught, pulling his weapon back, "hold fire."

Cole let out a sharp gulp, stopping his firing as well. Within moments, the wall opened back up again causing the hearts of both Alex and Cole to race. Their eyes only seconds later shot open in horror as the wall opened up fully to reveal Inertia and Shiore facing them head on with Inertia's hand still gripped tightly around her throat and his tendril running right through her gut.

"They put up more than a challenge then I expected," Inertia told the two riders as Shiore burst into dust, her pale blue aura swirling towards his hand and forming a gemstone in his palm alongside the others. Inertia stared down Alex and Cole, clenching the fist that held the stones, "Let's see how the two of you fare."

Cole and Alex shook with both fear and rage, the pair gritting their teeth before opening fire upon Inertia. "DAMN YOU!" they roared in unison.

Inertia stood there, taking every hit while gritting his teeth and keeping his gaze locked on Alex and Cole. After a while of firing, they stopped shooting a looked to see that Inertia was still up right and steam from all the shots that had been pumped into him.

"Bastards still standing," grunted Cole, hitting the touch screen on his driver resulting in his gatling gun dissolving into a data and his shoulder pads closing back up. "I'll try getting up close and personal."

He struck a pair of icons on the screen, "LASER SLICER! TRAIL BREAKER!" screamed the driver as his wrist mounted laser swords shot out from his gauntlets and his feet mounted tank treads form around his feet.

"Cover me," Cole told Alex, taking a wide legged stance as he revved up his treads and Inertia let out his tendrils. Alex nodded, aiming his blaster at Inertia.

In the blink of an eye, Cole darted towards Inertia as the dopant unleashed his tendrils upon the advancing rider. Thankfully Cole, Alex had his back and was able to fire the tendrils clean off from Inertia before they so much as touched him. Inertia sucked his teeth with a snarl, retracting his tendrils on his pauldrons and along with the ones on his wrists, the wrist mounted tendrils becoming long enough to be used as short thorning blades.

"As I figured," Cole narrowed his gaze upon Inertia, slicing the tendrils on the dopants wrists clean off before grabbing him by the head and stabbing him through the chest. "Using those tendrils of yours makes you stationary. Which means I can do as I please so long as I avoid them."

Revving up his trail breakers, Cole rammed Inertia into a nearby wall and driving Inertia's head and chest into it. "That's for Carter and Shiore!" he barked, twisting the blade with Inertia's back resulting in a cry of agony from Inertia. "That's for Ashley.. And this-" he pulled his sword from Inertia's back then, with all of his strength, he hurled the dopant into the air, "Is for Tara!"

He struck a button on his driver's touch screen, "BITER! MAX!" cried the device, his sword retracting as his Gatling Buster re-appeared on his left arm and the missile pods on his shoulder reopened, his Giga Drill forming around his right arm. Cole then pulled out the lever on his driver before plunging it back in with a quick motion. "BITER! MAXIMUM DRIVE!" cried his driver as Cole unleashed a barrage of missiles and bullets from his missile pods and Gatling Buster upon Inertia, filing the entire all with smoke and debris.

Alex let out a sharp breath, walking up to Cole as he lowered his gun to his side, "Did you.. Get him?" he panted, his heart still racing.

"No clue," Cole said, keeping his gaze fixed on the cloud of debris as it began to clear.

A loud crack echoed through the hall. "That actually hurt," Inertia spoke as he stepped out of the debris, the wall behind him repairing itself as he popped his arm back into the socket. "By my calculations, with point five percent more fire power," he narrowed his gaze upon Alex and Cole, "you might have actually killed me."

"Then why tell me?" Cole glared at him with a heavy breath, one of his knees beginning to tremble, "I'll just hit you harder next time."

"Because you hit me with a Maximum Drive, Cole Desmond. The second one, if memory serves me right," Inertia said as he brought out all of his tendrils again. "Try for a third, and the raw power alone would shatter you to the core before you could so much as aim your shot, let alone actually hitting me."

Alex pulled his blast memory from his driver and held it up to his chest, "You forget you're fighting two riders here!"

Inertia's eyes darted over to Alex, glaring at him, "Yes.. you are correct…" In a single motion, one of Inertia's tendrils struck the Blast memory out of Alex's hand.

Holding his hand, he maintained his gaze on Inertia, "I have more than that up my sleeve!" He went to pull out another memory, only for Inertia to grab at Alex's ankle with one of his tendrils.

"With that… you are also correct…" Inertia spoke, pulling Alex towards him by the foot.

"Let him go!" Cole barked, weakly raised his gatling buster and firing off at the tendril with only a few of his shots being being able to hit their mark.

"And what will you do if I don't?" Inertia glared at him, raising his remaining seven tendrils in Alex's direction as he bashed the boy into one wall then another. "You're worn out, I doubt you could even maintain your form for much longer. The clock is ticking Cole Desmond, and Alex Darwin will soon pay the price."

"SHUT YOUR GODDAMN MOUTH!" Alex shouted at Inertia, holding onto the tendril that had him suspended into the air with one hand gripping his Corona Blaster with the other. "I'VE HAD ENOUGH OUT OF YOU!"

With the Corona Blaster unsteadily aimed in Inertia's general direction, Alex fired off what shot his blaster had left with the Blast driver removed from his driver. One shot struck Inertia's shoulder, while the dopant easily batted the others away.

"Likewise, I am beginning to feel the same about you," Inertia spoke, sending his remaining seven tendrils hurling towards Alex.

With a gasp from both the heavily worn out riders, Alex pulled back on the trigger of his blaster only to get a slight fit of sparks from the barrel. Shortly after, the blaster itself dissolved into data followed by the vibrant blue top half of his armor fading into a depowered grey.

"Damn it!" Alex grunted, reaching for another memory only to whipped into the floor by Inertia's tendril, breaking Alex's transformation with a cry of agony upon impact. The other tendrils adjusted their course in response.

Gritting his teeth, Cole swiped the touch screen on his driver resulting in his Giga-Drill and Gatling Buster dissolving into data, the missile pods on his shoulders retracting once again. He then struck another icon, "LASER SLICER!" Cried his driver as his wrist mounted laser swords shot back out again.

Due to a newly found burst of adrenaline, all of Cole's actions happened within the span of a few milliseconds which made it nearly impossible to perceive in real time. This increase in speed allowed him to rush over between Inertia and Alex and slice through three tendrils with one sword then cut through another three tendrils with the other all before Alex so much as hit the ground.

"Thanks.. man…" Alex panted, "thought I was a goner there."

"Don't worry," Cole said as he sliced the tendril tethered around Alex's leg, "I've always got your back."

Before either of them could so much as say anything else, Cole let out a sudden gasp as the one remaining tendril of Inertia drove itself through Cole's back and broke out from the front of his chest.

"COLE!" Alex shrieked, climbing to his knees as his friend fell to his own. "Cole no! No no no!" Alex pleaded, grabbing as his friend and holding him with his shaking hands while tears began to run down from his face.

"A noble effort, Cole Desmond," Inertia spoke as he clenched his fist, "but if you are always watching his back, then who watches yours?"

"Alex…" Cole gripped Alex's collar, looking him dead in the eye as his whole body began to tremble, "kick his ass…"

With those last words, Cole shattered to dust which once again flowed into Inertia this time with a green aura. Alex fell to the floor, tightly gripping the air in his arms that once was his best friend. He shook, his tears breaking into full on sobbing as his body curled up into a ball on the floor.

"He was one of the best of you.. shame he didn't have what it took to end it when he could," Inertia told Alex, looking over to the crying boy on the floor. "Tears? Are you not going to even try to avenge them?" He asked, holding the five colored stones he held in the palm of his hand.

Alex didn't respond, the boy continuing to sob. "Carter… Shiore… Tara…" he whimpered in the dirt, "Ashley.. Cole… Madison… somebody… help me…"

"There is no one left who is able to help you, Alex… you may as well accept it." Inertia narrowed his gaze upon Alex and unfurled all eight of his tendrils once more, "It's over."

Inertia hurled his tendrils towards Alex, and as they drew closer to the crying boy on the floor, the ceiling above him began to crack with a loud thud. Inertia's gaze shifted up to the ceiling, "What?!"

Seconds before Inertia's tendrils could hit their mark, the ceiling gave way and the Xtreme memory shot down from the hole it made and connected to Alex's driver. Alex gasped, a blinding light eruption from the driver and shattering all of Inertia's tendrils.

{Insert fight song: "Extreme Dream" by Labor Day}

"No Inertia…" a angelic voice echoed in the dopant's ear, "it's not over!"

Inertia froze, the voice sending a shiver down his spine, "Alice?"

"Inertia!" Roared Alex as he climbed to his feet, gritting his teeth while tightly gripping his driver with one hand and the pink Madison memory with the other. "You've made two massive mistakes today. The first was not killing me when you had the chance!"

Inertia narrowed his gaze at the boy and smirked at him, "And the second?"

"Was letting me hold out to this!" Alex told him, holding Madison's memory to him before striking the activation button.

The memory cried out Madison's name, however due to a slight distortion from Alex's tinkering the name it cried out instead sounded closer to, "MAXIMUM!"

"Please guys..." Alex breathed, slamming the memory into the Maximum Drive slot on his belt before placing both hands on the Xtreme memory, "give me your strength."

Alex split his driver open, the pair of memories in turn crying out, "MAXIMUM! XTREME!"

Alex Ultimate Xtreme form materialized around him while a violent whirlwind raged around the boy, his transformation however was not quite down. The Maximum memory sparked a change in the Xtreme memory, its jet black wings sparkling into a shimmery pink while the red X became an even more brilliant gold. On the Ultimate Xtreme form itself, the black and red on it changed to match the new color of the memory with the eyes of Alex's helmet shifting from its burning amber color to a far more regal sapphire blue.

To top off the new form, Alex now gripped a heart shaped shield that was grafted to his left arm. The face of it was pink just like his armor, with a pair or stylized Ms lining both sides of it. This shield's name was the Maximum Defender.

"So you have a new form," Inertia scowled, hurling all eight of his tendrils towards Alex. "You'll still lose if you can't fight with it!" Alex remained still, allowing all eight tendrils to pierce his body. "As I suspected… now you have lost."

"Inertia…" Alex spoke in a snarl as sparks began to erupt from where the tendrils had pierced him, the fully charged rider extending his right arm out to the side before calling X-Calibur into it. "This Xtreme is made from the memories I have of all my friends. If you wish to absorb all that," with one clean swing of his blade, Alex cut through all eight of Inertia's tendrils, "I dare you to so much as try!"

As his tendrils were cut, Inertia jumped back only for Alex to dash behind him in the blink of an eye and slash down his sword upon the dopant. Quickly turning to face, Inertia blocked the strike with one of his gauntlets, sparks flying off from the gauntlet and the edge of X-Calibur's blade.

"I'll admit you have power," Inertia spoke, his gauntlet beginning to crack under the weight of the opposing blade, "but that alone won't allow you to win."

"Why should I believe a liar like you!" Barked Alex, continuing to push down on his sword, "You said you wanted to defeat Vainglory, but now-" he narrowed his gaze upon Inertia, "-what makes you any different from him?!"

With a grunt, Inertia shoved Alex back breaking the parry. "Defeat me, and I might just answer that question." He eyed his gauntlet, gritting his teeth as it remained damaged.

"Don't worry," Alex took a wide stance and tightly gripped both of his weapons, "I plan to."

With a quick leap forward, Alex swung his sword at Inertia only for Inertia to block it with his undamaged gauntlet. Alex had prepared for this however and from the blocked slash he went right into a punch with the arm he held his Maximum Defender. The punch landed and cut into Inertia's side, staggering the dopant for a moment as he stumbled forward and allowing Alex to skirt past him under his arm.

Inertia held his side and gritted his teeth to bare through the pain, "Lucky hit…" he muttered, glaring at Alex from over his shoulder, "but it will take more than that to bring me down."

"I know," Alex stood and held up his clenched fist, Inertia gasping when he saw that Alex held within it the memories of Gale, Rock, Yuki and Ryu-O, "but with these, the next hit will."

"What?!" Inertia stepped forward, bringing out his still cut tendrils in a defensive formation, "How did-"

"I don't know, but I don't care," Alex raised his X-Calibur, a white aura reaching out from it and pulling the four memories into a slot on the guard. "Your rampage ends here!"

"GALE! MEMORY CHARGE! ROCK! MEMORY CHARGE! YUKI! MEMORY CHARGE! RYU-O! MEMORY CHARGE!" cried out each memory as it was inserted into X-Calibur's guard, Alex pulling out the Star memory and slipping it into the slot at the top of the hilt. "STAR! MEMORY CHARGE!"

Once the star memory was in place, the wings, shin guards and claws granted to Xtreme by Gale, Rock and Yuki formed onto Alex's armor with Yuki's wrist mounted claws unfolding through the Maximum Defender through slots that seemed designed for that purpose. Clenching both of his fists, Alex caused the blade of X-Calibur to ignite in fire with a similar effect spouting out of the tips of the Ms that lined the sides of the Maximum Defender.

With his power at its highest, Alex dashed towards Inertia and drove the claws of his shield arm through Inertia's gut, the dopant becoming stunned as a direct result of the hit.

"You have wings, let's see if you can use them," Alex raised his sword to the ceiling, pulling back on the trigger resulting in a towering inferno shooting out and burning a hole through enough layers to allow daylight to shine through from above. "Going up."

With a beat of his wings, Alex shot up through the roof of the building until they were several hundred feet above it. Once high enough in the air, Alex tossed Inertia away only for the dopant to recover and turn himself back to face Alex with a defensive stance. The pair locked eyes, the beating of their wings syncing with one another in a matter of seconds.

"As someone often accused of lying, I've told only one today," Inertia spoke as his wrist mounted tendrils formed into a pair of blades. "Destroying the Inertia memory is the only way to release the energy it has stolen. Defeat me, and your friends will be restored."

"I will," Alex glared at him, gripping his sword, "count on it."

Their gaze was not to be uninterrupted, as the sound of sirens began to echo from below. The opposing foes looked down to see a full squad of police cars that had gathered around the building, Alex being able to spot Madison, Marcoh and Sampson looking up him from below.

"An audience has gathered," Inertia glared, holding his hand out to the building, "a shame… I wasn't planning on any civilian casualties." He said, an orb of deep violet energy beginning to form in the palm of his hand.

"Leave them out of this!" Alex roared, rushing over to Inertia and slashing his sword at the wrist of Inertia that held the orb.

Inertia narrowed his gaze upon Alex, raising his free arm to block the slash. "Sorry Alex…" he spoke as his gauntlet shattered to bits, "they're already involved."

Flexing out his hand, Inertia fired the ball of energy at the crowd below. The hearts of both Alex and Madison skipped a beat, the fully powered rider diving down to meet the shot. With a quick mid air turn, Alex raised his shield to block the shot only for it exploded into a blast that shattered the sound barrier and hurled Alex into the ground below.

"ALEX!" Shouted Madison as she ran to his side, lifting him up with both of her hands, "Are you alright?!"

"Yeah…" Alex panted, gripping Madison's hand as tight as he could with one of his own, "just keep your head down until I've finished things."

"Darwin," Marcoh spoke, coming up to the pair as he stared at Inertia in the air, "who the hell is that?"

"Inertia, and he's as dangerous as he looks," Alex told him as he stood back up with Madison's help.

"You think you can take him on your own?" Sampson asked, feeling a chill run down his spine.

"If I don't, no one else will," Alex gulped, "the others… they're gone."

"G-Gone?" Madison gasped, "as in.."

"Not entirely," Alex told her, looking back up at Inertia, "I've got one shot to get them back, and I'm going to take it."

"Alex…" Madison placed her hand on his shoulder, "Just, come back safe, okay?"

Alex nodded, "I will."

Without another word, Alex shot back up into the sky and past Inertia, giving the dopant a heavy slash up his chest with X-Calibur. This staggered Inertia, allowing Alex the time he needed to slide the blade X-Calibur into a slot made for it on the top of the Maximum Defender and position himself above the still air born dopant.

"As I said before Inertia!" Alex called down to him, closing the slots of his driver, "Your rampage… ends here!" He said before reopening his driver.

"MAXIMUM! XTREME! MAXIMUM DRIVE!" Roared the pair of memories in unison.

"MAXIMUM MEMORY STORM!" shouted Alex as he dove down into a drop kick with both his feet extended, striking Inertia in the chest and taking the dopant down as the rider kicked him numerous times each with a spark and an explosion.

"Congratulations… Alex Darwin…" Inertia smirked as he felt himself strike the ground, "you've passed the test…"

{End fight song}

Inertia struck the ground, causing a deep and very wide circular crater to form in the ground where he had landed. Alex flipped off from Inertia, touching down just outside the mouth of the hole with a firm but quickly weakening stance. His body trembled, the Xtreme memory losing its color as Alex closed his driver resulting in his armor dissolving away and returning him to his cut up and bruised civilian form. His ankles shook as he inched his way closer to the crater, looking down to see a withered old man with dust oozing out from him and into the air.

The moment Alex laid eyes on the man, his legs gave out and he tumbled into the hole and rolled down it until he was practically on top of him. Alex's breathing was heavy, his hand clenching the dirt only to find something within the unsettled soil. He weakly lift his fist to see that he was holding what remained of the Inertia memory shattered to bits and faded of all color.

"You asked... what made Vainglory different from myself…" the severely aged Joel muttered as he stared up at the sky, watching as the particles of dust flowed out from his being, "he will stop at nothing to get what he wants… and I have sacrificed everything in my efforts… to save those I love." He used all the energy he had left to shift his gaze towards Alex, "If nothing else… don't let my efforts be wasted."

Alex looked up to Joel, cold tears beginning to run down his face as he lay there next to the withering man, "It didn't have to be this way… we could've-"

"What's done is done… Alex…" Joel looked at him, a smile appearing on his face, "Inertia… the inability to end the monster I had called a friend… were my sins to bare." He lifted his hand and placed it on top of the boy's head, "Nevertheless… you now have all that you need to face Vainglory on your own."

"I will…" Alex nodded, beginning to choke up, "I'll defeat him, then make sure no one ever will be able to open the gate again! I swear!"

"I see… then I have only one more favor to ask…" Joel muttered as his body began to break apart, "in the world you leave behind… make sure it is one where Carter and Tara can be happy."

With those final words, Joel broke apart completely leaving Alex alone in the crater.

"I will…" the boy muttered as his still tear filled eyes began to close, Alex's vision beginning to go dark, "I swear…"

"Alex?" A soft voice called out from the shadow of the void, "ALEX!"

His eyes opened once again, gasping as he saw Madison crying over top of him and holding him as tight as she could. Letting out a sigh of relief, Alex wrapped his own arms around her and brought her closer towards him.

"It's okay Madison…" he spoke in a still weakened voice, "I'm okay."

As they two held one another, the pitter patter of several footstep in the dirt became to echo in the distance and grow louder as they drew closer. Two pairs of footsteps stopped once they reached the top of the crater while three others dove in and proceeded to slide down the side of the hole itself.

"HOT BOD!" Tara's voice cried out as the blond rider shoved Madison off him, "I get you're having a moment, but I need Superstar right now!" She barked, grabbing Alex by the collar and looked him in the eye with her own that were full of rage. "Where's Inertia?! I'm gonna kill him!"

Alex took in a sharp gulp, gently placing his hand over top of Tara's as he met her gaze with his own, "He's… he's gone…" he told her, showing her the broken memory he held in his hand.

"G-Gone?" Tara's heart sank, grabbing the memory shards from Alex's hand as her body suddenly began to tremble. "As in…" Alex simply nodded, pulling Tara close and holding her.

"What happened?" Cole spoke up, him and Ashley both standing in the crater with they same worried and confused expression.

"I.. I passed his test…" Alex told them, managing a sad smile, "then he told me.. To make sure that Tara and Carter would be happy…"

Tara fell to her knees, tears beginning to uncontrollably run down from her face as Cole came over to her before gently placing both of his hands on her shoulders.

"Wait, if he told you that.." Ashley spoke up, looking Alex in the eye, "then he wasn't aiming to kill any of us?"

Alex shook his head, "He was trying to help us... " he looked down to the Xtreme memory that still clung to his belt, "and by the looks of things.. He did."

From the mouth of the crater, Shiore and Carter stared down from above. Carter maintained his gaze upon the riders while Shiore in time shot a glare towards Carter. She clenched her fist as her arm began to violently pulse.

"He told me he didn't do it," her own words echoed in her mind as she looked upon Carter. "And you believed him?" echoed Inertia's response.

As this scene transpired, Ms Seraphina watched it with a smirk through the reflection in a glass of red wine she held in her hand while sitting at a bar in a form fitting black dress.

"Inertia you fool," she spoke, "in your efforts to foil the events I have set in motion… you've only brought them one step closer to becoming a reality."

"HEY! IT'S YOU ISN'T!" a voice called out to her, Seraphina looking over then down to see a scrawny poorly kept teenager with long ratty hair and spotty facial hair clawing at her feet. "You're the one they call Desire, aren't you?"

Seraphina's gaze flickered in surprise then she regained her composed smirk, "that I am…" she told him, patting him on the head, "now tell me, what is yours my child?"

"There's this girl," said the boy whose clothes smelled of rain, "will you help me win her heart?"

Later that same night, Shiore sat in her darkened condo eating away at the meal she had cooked for herself. As she cut away at her food, the arm she held her knife with began to violently pulse once more until eventually the plate shattered under the pressure of the knife. She punched the table, pulling her pulse arm to her chest and grabbing at her sweater with her free hand.

"Damn it!" she gritted her teeth as a direct result of the pain, tears running down her face as she pulled back the sleeve of her sweater to stare at the icy blue crystal like shards that protruded out from her arm. The crystals pulsed in a pale blue glow, and were not just stuck to her skin, then were growing out from it. Her lower lip trembled, closing her eyes as she curled up into a ball in her chair. "... Damn it…"

{Insert ending theme: "Magia" by Kalafina}

**Next time on Kamen Rider Ultimate Xtreme:**

The riders prepare for the final confrontation against Vainglory, while Desire aims to disrupt their plans.

Will the riders be able to prevail in spite of the interruptions?

All will be decided when Kamen Rider Ultimate Xtreme continues in:

**Episode 42: One More Day**

_Happy birthday, Yuki._


	9. Episode 42: One More Day

**Episode 42: One More Day**

Ten years ago on the afternoon of November 17th in a traditional Japanese home, a six year old Shiore blew out the candles of a white birthday covered in blueberries and matching flowers make of sugar and frosting. The room filled with applause from the trio that sat around her, an older man and woman and a young boy about ten years older than her.

"Happy birthday Shiore," said the man and woman. "What did you wish for?" Asked the woman.

"Mom! If I tell you it won't come true!" Pouted Shiore, smirking at the young boy, "Besides!" She jumped at him, the boy wincing as he caught her, "Its big brother's birthday too! Remember?!"

"Hey there!" The boy laughed, "you know, you're a lot heavier than you look."

"Satoshi!" The mother barked with a laugh, "that is no way to speak to a lady."

"Ya! Big brother!" Shiore snickered, biting her brother on the hand before darting away on all fours.

"Ow!" Cried Satoshi as he held his hand, glaring at his little sister, "That's not a lady mother, that's a beast in the guise of one."

"Lady or beast, she's right about one thing," the father got up and headed over to a sliding door, opening it as he poked his head and arm into the dark hallway behind it, "Satoshi it is your birthday as well." He pulled himself back in, holding a black case which he proceeded to hold out to the boy, "And so, it is on this day that you are ready to claim your birthright. Your legacy."

Satoshi gasped, as did Shiore. The pair of them with their eyes fixed on the case.

"Shiore," cooed her mother, patting the floor to get her attention, "come to mother please."

Shiore's face lit up with a grin, charging once again on all fours before leaping into her mother's arm. "Sing me a birthday song mom!" She demanded.

"A song?" Her mother grinned, "which one?"

Shiore's grin widened as she relaxed into her mother's arm. "The one I like… more than the others…"

Shiore's mother patted her daughter on the head, then took in a deep breath. "Yuki wa shiroku" she started to sing, "daichi wo somete. Sora he tsuzuku" With a heavy yawn, Shiore cuddled up into her mother's lap and fell asleep as she continued to sing, "michi wo tsukuru."

Once Shiore was asleep, the mother nodded to the father, "She's asleep Otoya.. You may continue now."

The father bowed his head to his wife, "Thank you Shion." He said as he gripped the case, opening it to his son to reveal the Yuki Driver contained within on the bottom half of the case and the Yuki and Shira memories staring at the boy from the top half, "This is one thing I'd rather Shiore not become involved in."

Satoshi gasped in awe at the sight of the device, reaching out with a trembling hand as he placed his hand atop the driver "Father…" he muttered as he looked up to meet his father's gaze, "are you sure I'm ready?"

Otoya nodded, "I am sure, my son."

Satoshi managed a smile, "Thank you father." He bowed, "I won't let you down." He took the driver in his hands and brought it to his waist, a pair of belt straps shooting out before connecting at the back.

"It suits you Satoshi," smiled Otoya, taking the Yuki Memory out from its case before closing the case with the Shira memory still inside it. "However, I believe we need to complete the look, don't you?" He handed his son the Yuki Memory.

Satoshi nodded as he took the memory, "Please, not in the house," Shion called out gently, motioning towards her daughter, "at least not while someone is trying to sleep."

"Shion, sweety, we were not going to," Otoya laughed, looking to his son. "At least not here, right Satoshi?"

His son sharply gulped then nodded, eyeing the case his father still held. "And.. we'll be testing the other memory too? Right?"

"No, we will not," Otoya's tone suddenly changed to a more serious one, placing the case back behind the door he got from and shutting it. "The Shira memory is… different to what you are used to, Satoshi. Only those it accepts can use it.. And those it does not…" he looked his son dead in the eye with a narrow soul piercing gaze, "it will rip them apart, little by little until there is nothing left. That's why unless the day comes where it deems you worthy of it, you are better to pretend that it does not exist."

Satoshi's heart beat slowed to a crawl upon hearing his father's words, "How…" he finally muttering, "How will I know if it does?"

"Should that time ever come," his father told him, "you my son, will know."

The morning of November 16th, present day. It was a cold day with frost covering every surface it could outside and yet not a single flake of snow had fallen. Shiore stood in the lobby of her building by a wall of mailboxes staring into her own that was empty as she held a trio of three white envelopes. All of them were bills, the same three bills she had received since she had moved into that building. As she stood there on that cold November morning, holding the same three pieces of mail that was all she ever received, her arm violently pulsed once again. It was only for a moment, however, and was stopped when she heard something she did not expect.

"Hey! I didn't know you lived here!" called out a voice that was softer than the coo of a dove, "Small world, isn't it?"

With a slight jump, Shiore pulled the sleeve of her sweater over her pulsing arm and turned on her heel to see Madison standing directly behind her with a smile on her face and a thick winter jacket covering her. "Oh… it's just you," she muttered, the blink of her eyes being the only movement made by her face, "Madison Tyler, right?"

"You got it," she nodded, pointing a finger at the ice rider, "and you'd be, Shiori right?"

"Shiore," the girl blinked once again, "the e on the end makes more of an a sound as opposed to an e sound. Common mistake though, to be fair."

"Right, sorry. Shoulda known better given all the anime I watch," Madison laughed, jabbing herself in the head lightly with her fist. "Anyway, I'm just a bit shocked that you and I live in the same building you know?"

Shiore nodded, staring Madison in the eye with the occasional blink as girl before her just stared at her with her grin seeming to grow wider and wider with each passing second, "Is there… something you needed?" Shiore muttered after a while of silence.

"Well yeah, I was hoping you and I could be friends," Madison said, extending her open hand to her, "So.. how about it? We could hang out, go to the movies, that sort of thing?"

Shiore looked at the girl's hand then looked back to meet Madison's gaze, "You… want to 'hang out'... with me?"

"Of course," Madison said, continuing to hold her hand out. "Like today for example, I'm on my way to meet the others at this cafe called the Cat's Eye. You wanna go together?"

Upon hearing the words 'the others' escape Madison's lips, Carter's face appeared in the back of Shiore's mind as her eyes flickered violet for a split second. "I see…" her neutral gaze shifted slightly to a glare, "will HE be there?"

"He?" Madison asked.

"Ryu-O," Shiore clarified, "you may know him as Carter."

"I think they're all going," Madison told her, "so he'll probably be there. Why do you ask?"

Shiore slammed her mailbox closed and pulled her key from it. "Because if he is there," she muttered to Madison as she brushed past her, refusing to look the other girl in the eye, "then I will not be."

Madison felt her heart sink as she watched Shiore walk down the lobby of the building and into a hallway that lead to the elevators, turning around a corner. "Could two Kamen Riders be…" she finally spoke, cocking up a brow, "fighting?"

Unbenounced to Madison, she and Shiore's brief conversation was being watched. As Shiore stormed over and into one of the elevators, she marched right past an old woman with grey hair and pale skin, dressed in black with an amber ring on her finger.

"Finally," she smirked as she turned her yellow eyes to the ring she wore, three monstrous shadows appearing in the reflection. "The day I have waited so long for... has finally arrived."

It was a cold day, and it was only going to get colder.

{Insert opening theme: "Alones" by Aqua Timez}

In the dark shroud of an underground laboratory, Jason stared at a large test tube in a stark white room through a pane of glass from where he stood in a darkened room filled with scientists typing away on keyboards. The old tired eyed man glanced over to Rylee who had her hand pressed down on an intercom.

"All signs are reading green Carter," she spoke firmly with a slight tremor to her voice, "proceed with phase two of gaia memory activation test."

"Yes… mother…" Carter's voice echoed from the intercom with a heavy breath. "Hen… shin…"

"RYU-O!" Roared from the speakers, the test tube within the white room filling up with a warm amber color. Jason kept his eyes on the tube while Rylee's gaze darted quickly to the scientists working away on the terminals.

"How is he?" Rylee asked, a bead of sweat running down her face.

"Synchronization between subject and Ryu-O gaia memory is stabilization," said one of the scientists, looking over their screen, "we should have the full results in-" They stopped typing, a gasp escaping their lips as a massive string of errors began to pop up on the screen.

Alarms flared in the lab, the amber color of the test tube switching to a violent blood red as cracks began to form in the glass.

Rylee slammed her fist down on the desk, looking the scientist in the eye, "What's happening to him in there?! Tell me!"

"Synchronization is destabilization…" said the scientist, typing away frantically at the keypad, "gaia memory corruption is increasing even with the driver in place."

"Then shut it down!" Rylee demanded "Before we lose him!"

The scientist gritted their teeth even further, attempting to write code faster than errors were piling up, "That's what I'm trying to-"

The room went dark, everything from the lights to even the terminals shutting off with the only source of light left coming from the tube beyond the glass. A slight snarl began to erupt from it, the glass cracking even further before giving way to Ryu-O's fist as it punched through it.

Rylee's entire being trembled as she stared at the armored fist, "... Carter?…" Her voice began to sound younger, the dark taking over the entire room, "CARTER!"

Upon the second calling of his name, Carter's eyes shot open to find himself sitting in a booth at the Cat's Eye cafe with Alex and Ashley across from him and Cole directly beside him.

"Are you okay?" Ashley spoke, raising a brow at him, "you've just been staring off into space for the past-" she checked her phone and looked at the time, "-twenty minutes."

"Was I?" Carter let out a wince, holding his head. "Sorry… what were we talking about?"

"Vainglory," Alex chimed in with a whisper, "we might have the power to defeat him now, but that won't do us any good without knowing who we're up against." He clenched his fist tight, "After what he did to Madison, I refuse to let him do as he pleases for a minute longer."

Cole kept one eye on the conversation and the other on Tara as she went about serving customers with a smile on her face and a pair of yellow cat ears on her head as a bit of personal flare to her uniform.

Carter stared at Alex and Ash before letting out a heavy sigh, "Honestly… I don't know much more that you all do." Carter fell silent as he gave the matter some thought, "except for…" he narrowed his gaze upon the other riders, "his ability to manipulate and phase into shadows. I've only seen it a handful of times, but if there is a shadow, no matter how small, he can weaponize it or disappear into it."

Ash looked at him with a raised brow, then laughed. "Sounds like the perfect fit for a coward," She said as she leaned back into her seat before crossing his arms.

"Coward or not, how do we beat him?" Cole asked.

Ashley shrugged, "Grab a big light source and blind him with it? I dunno."

It was at that precise moment that the cafe's front door chimed as Madison walked in, scanning the room before finding her friends and hurrying over to their booth.

"Sorry I'm late," she panted as she sat next to Alex, the pair exchanging a kiss and a hug as they were reunited, "traffic was a nightmare."

"Hey, you're here now right?" Alex managed a smile as he wrapped his arm around her, "Shouldn't that be all that matters?" Madison gave him a smile of her own and nodded.

"Hot Bod! You made it!" Tara cheered as she rushed up to the table her friends were all seated at, a grin on her face and a pen and paper in her hands, "What can I get for you?"

"I'm good for right now," Madison shrunk her head a bit as her face turned bright red, "and, could you maybe stop with the whole Hot Bod thing? It makes me a bit uncomfortable."

Tara looked at her and blinked, her own face becoming its own shade of red, "Oh… sure, of course." She regained her grin, "I'll just need to come up with a better nickname for you. A slight headache for me saves a lot of discomfort for you, right?"

"Right," Madison nodded as she managed a grin once again, "thank you."

Ashley looked over to Tara, raising her hand, ""I'm still Juicy Butt, right?"

Tara smirked, "The juiciest," she said, clicking her teeth together with a wink.

Balling her hands into fists, she pumped her arms back into her chest, "Yes!" she cheered under her breath.

"Now then, it looks like we're still missing someone," Tara looked everybody over. "Where's the ice queen hiding?"

"Oh! I actually ran into her this morning," Madison told her with her hand raised, "would you believe I lived in the same building as her this whole time and didn't know?"

"She is known to be good keeping quiet," Ashley threw in, "sometimes I forget she's there when she's standing right next to me."

"She said she was coming though? Right?!" Tara said with a big grin on her face, like a kitten about to be given a treat.

"Oh… um actually… no…" Madison glanced over to Carter for a second before quickly looking back to Tara. "She said she was busy, and told me to tell all of you to just... carry on without her?" Carter felt his heart drop to his stomach upon hearing those words.

"Well… that sucks…" Tara let out a disappointed sigh. She shrugged after a moment, "Oh well, nothing we can do about it now I guess." She removed her cat ears and placed them on the table before calling out to another worker with shoulder length chestnut hair, "NATALIE, MY FRIENDS ARE ALL HERE! I'M GOING ON BREAK!"

"KAY!" Natalie called back to her, "BUT THEY'RE NOT EATING FOR FREE, JUST SO YOU KNOW!"

"MY DAD OWNS THE PLACE!" Tara stuck her tongue out at Natalie, "JUST SO YA KNOW!"

Across town in Marcoh's apartment, Rylee stared blankly out the window from where she sat in the chair she was cuffed to. Her lower lip quivered ever so slightly as she felt a sharp pain in her heart and the glare of Marcoh over her shoulder.

"Inertia…" she muttered, "is gone?"

"He was engaged in combat with the kid by the time we got to him… he did not survive," Marcoh told her with a nod of his head, "I only thought that you should know."

"I see…" She muttered once again, still staring blankly out the window, "what about Carter, and Thea?"

"They're fine, Inertia it seems was the only casualty in the entire affair," Marcoh told her, heading over to the painting he kept on the wall, taking it down to reveal the safe once again. "Now, if you'll excuse me," he went to open it.

"How many?" Rylee called out to him, causing the officer to stop inputting the code and turn to face her.

"What was that?" He asked her with a firm gaze on her.

"Gaia memories…" she spoke, "how many do you… have in there?"

"Yours, and one other," he told her.

"Gorge?" She asked suddenly, "it's the Gorge memory… isn't it?"

Marcoh glared at her, "so what if it was?"

"I have been looking for its user for some time now…" she spoke softly, with a tremor to her voice, "would you... happen to know where he is?"

"You don't need to worry about HER," he slammed the painting over the safe once again, "SHE is just fine, no thanks to you."

Rylee paused, raising a brow as she looked over her shoulder towards Marcoh, "She?" She jumped when she saw Marcoh already the door shooting a soul piercing glare at her.

"Before you speak," he said with a growl, "consider the fact that you are wrong."

Without a single word more, he opened the door, stepped through it that slammed it behind him. Upon hearing the door lock, Rylee waited a whole minute before looking to the handcuff that linked her to the old steel radiator that sat beside her.

Grabbing the thumb of her cuffed hand with her free one, she popped it put of the socket with nothing more than a wince escaping her lips. Once the deed was done, she effortlessly slipped her hand out of the cuff, popping her thumb back into place once she was free. Narrowing her gaze upon the painting, she got up and walked over to it, swinging it open from the wall before punching the combination into safe's touch pad lock.

The lock came undone, allowing Rylee to open it and grab her Spite memory and driver. She held it in her hand, about to pick it up when her eyes drifted towards the Gorge memory that sat directly beside her own.

"Before you speak," Marcoh's words echoed in her mind, "consider the fact that you are wrong."

Back in the Cat's Eye, Madison and the riders now having ordered drinks for themselves held them up and clinked their glasses and mugs together.

"To Inertia," Tara spoke, a slight crack coming through in her voice.

"To Inertia," the others chimed in unison, the whole group taking a sip of their drinks to honor the fallen dopant.

"He… he was a good man," Alex added, eyeing Tara as he bit his lip.

"Let's all be glad he wasn't actually planning to kill," Ashley said, trying to lighten the mood.

Carter watched as Tara let out a heavy sigh, the young man make eye contact with Cole who looked back at him. The earth rider motioned his eyes towards Tara, as if trying to tell Carter, "say something."

With a gulp, Carter nodded then looked to his Sister at the end of the table. "Tara-"

"OKAY!" Tara shouted loudly, clasping her hands over her cheeks before blowing raspberries from her mouth for a good thirty seconds to the surprise of all present, "Time to stop feeling sad! Time to stop feeling sad!" She said seemingly to herself before downing her cup of coffee.

"Isn't it a bit unhealthy to do that?" Carter questioned, "swallow your feelings I mean?"

"Big brother, allow me to answer your question with another question," Tara looked him in the eye, "when snow melts, what does it become?"

Carter looked at her and blinked, "Water… right?"

"Nuh uh," Tara shook her head, looking to the others with her typical grin, "anyone else?"

"Spring," Madison look at her with a smirk, "you aren't the only one here who's seen Fruits Basket." She pointed a finger at her, "Now you had better not start talking about how spring is always around the corner no matter how cold the winter is. You got that?"

"Hey, just cause its from something doesn't mean we can't apply it to our own lives," Tara shrugged before slamming her fist down on the table. "Besides, ain't that the whole reason we tell stories in the first place?"

Madison glared at her then laughed a little. "Touche," she said, pointing a finger at her.

"Speaking of winter," Alex leaned in with a raised brow, "what did Shiore say she was busy with?"

"Oh! Uh…" Madison jumped, avoiding the gaze of Carter who was now staring right at her as she looked her boyfriend in the eye, "She didn't say. I didn't pry, felt rude."

"Maybe she's treating herself," Carter spoke up. "Considering tomorrow is her birthday and all."

"Oh?" Sang Tara as she raised up her brow, leaning over the table to get right into the fire rider's face with the biggest smirk she could muster, "now how is it Big Brother that you know a detail like that?"

Carter stared at her, blinking for a moment as the eyes of everyone else were suddenly on him. "I-I…" he muttered, fighting a blush, "I read her file at the station, and it happened to have her birthday on it."

"Aw, and you remembered," Ashley cooed. She looked to Alex and Cole, "Take notes you two," she motioned between them before pointing to Carter, "simple things like this is the key to a girl's heart."

Alex looked at Ashley and blinked, "So he remembered her birthday, that's not exactly hard."

"Oh yeah?" Madison glanced at him. "When is mine then?"

Alex stared at her, blinking after a moment as he began to sweat a little, "Uh…"

"Oh good god," Madison face palmed, "January second."

"Okay, thank you," Alex gulped, taking hold of Madison's hand. "I'll remember, now that you've told me."

Madison looked at him, "You promise?"

"I swear," Alex nodded, "even so, it's not like I'm the only person on earth who forgets a thing like that.. right?"

Tara looked to Cole and sang, "Oh Rockyyy."

"February third," Cole chimed in instantly.

"And Kat's?" Tara pointed a finger at him.

"December sixteenth," Cole fired back just as instantly as before.

"Good boy Rocky," Tara blew him a kiss.

At the police station, Sampson sat at his desk writing up a few reports when suddenly his GMR scanner went off. The chief picked it up then gasped as he saw three blinking lights marked 'unidentified' on the screen.

"This isn't good," he muttered under his breath as he grabbed the phone on his desk.

{End of Part A}

{Start of Part B}

Back at the Cat's Eye, Ashley leaned back into her seat with a smirk "Bet you no one here knows my birthday… well, save for Madison that is," she boasted, taking a sip of her tea.

The group stared at her, "Can we have a hint?" Cole asked with a bit of a laugh

"It passed recently," Ash told them, "I didn't even say anything due to the Fury, Crave and Inertia fiascos."

"October thirty-first…" a quiet voice echoed from over her shoulder, sending a chill down the spines of Ashley, Alex and even Madison.

Ashley spat her tea out right into Carter's face, slowly turning to look over her shoulder only to find a pale faced boy with long ratty black hair staring back at her.

"H-How in hot holy hell do you know that?!" She barked at him, "Who the hell are you even?!"

"I… I am Junn Feltcher," he told her with an unsettling grin, " and I know all sorts of lovely things about you, Ashley Haze." He stumbled out of the booth, carrying a journal in his hand which he opened and began reading off from it. "Ashley Haze, age seventeen. Natural hair color, a beautiful cream blond.. that you really should go back to. Favorite animal, arctic fox. Pastimes include, school, fighting things she really should not and playing World of Warcraft for an ungodly amount time without replying to anyone who whispers her." His smirk widened as he looked at Ashley, "Shall I go on?"

Ashley shook her head, "please don't!"

"So then…" Junn's lip twitched, the boy reaching out and grabbing Ashley's hand, "will you got out with me?"

Ashley stared at him, blinking before punching him square in the jaw and knocking him to the floor.

"HELL NO!" Ashley told him, the cafe guests and staff gasping as Ashley rose to her feet, "Not after pulling that shit! You're a creep!"

Junn shook on the floor before glaring at Ashley, "No I'm not… you're just a bitch who should learn to take a nice guy when you see one!" He said, climbing to his feet before pulling out a Gaia Memory marked with a V. "Guess I'll need this after all."

"VIPER!" Roared the memory as he struck the activation button, Junn opening his mouth and sticking the memory to the tip of his extended tongue.

With a cloud of dark aura, Junn was transformed into a sickly green humanoid snake before hurling his now long forked tongue at her. With a heavy glare and a swift flick of her arm, Ashley caught the tongue and pulled out her own Shift memory.

"Great, now I have two reasons to kick your ass into the dirt!" She told him, striking her memory's own activation button.

"SHIFT!" roared the memory as her driver formed around her waist, Ashley slamming her memory into it before switching it to its active position, "SHIFT!" Roared the memory once more as Ashley donned her rider form through a torrent of water rushing over her.

Viper gasped, pulling back his tongue from Ashley's grasp and into his mouth before leaping a few feet away from her. "Y-You're not the princess I dreamt of. You're a demon!"

"Glass houses buddy," Ashley cracked her knuckles.

"WHOA!" Natalie barked from the front desk. "TARA! Tell your friends what I told you! No Kamen Rider business inside the cafe!"

Cole looked to Tara, "Natalie knows about all this?"

"There are few things in this world Natalie doesn't know," Tara told him, looking over to Ashley, "JUICY BUTT! YOU HEARD THE BOSS! Take him outside."

"Gladly," Ashley smirked, pulling a body of water out from a nearby tap before hurling it as a bubble towards Viper and using it to transport the dopant out the front door without breaking anything.

Once Viper was outside, Ash slammed him down hard onto the pavement. Groaning on the ground, Viper looked up to see Ash before him with her warglaives pointed right in his face.

"GALE! ROCK! RYU-O! STAR! RUNNER!" roared the memories of the other riders as they formed around Ashley Tara and Cole pulling out their flail and hammer respectively with Carter summoning the Ryu-O buster with a snap of his fingers. Alex simply raised his fists as the other riders aimed their weapons at Viper.

"Stay back guys," Ash glared at Viper, pressing the blade of her warglaive to the trembling Viper's throat, "this worm is mine."

"Have at it!" Tara called out to her, shooting a thumbs up towards Ashley, "we're just here holding up the net."

Viper shook on the ground, his eyes darting from Ashley to the other riders who were cornering in around him before refocusing again on Ashley. His gaze drifted down her body to her ankle.

"N-NO FAIR!" wept Viper, lashing his tongue around Ashley's ankle and pulling her to the ground. Before Ashley could so much as counter, Viper latched his tongue up to a lamp post and used it to swing on top of it. "FIGHT ME FAIRLY IF YOU WON'T DATE ME!"

Carter chucked a fire blast at him, Viper darting onto the side of a nearby building to just barely dodge it. Viper took in a deep breath, about to exhale only to gasp as one of Ashley's warglaives flew right at him and knocked him from the building.

"WORMS LIKE YOU SHOULD ONLY BE STEPPED ON!" Ash shouted, catching her warglaive at it hurled right back to her, Viper clinging on to another building and holding his side where Ash had hit him. "AND NOT IN THE FUN WAY!"

"YOU NASTY WOMAN!" Viper cried as he leapt away from building side to building side before vanishing over the horizon, "I'LL GET YOU! MARK MY WORDS!"

With a heavy sigh, Ashley fell to her knees as she shut off her driver and returned to her civilian form with the other riders following suit shortly after. Ashley balled her hand into a fist then punched the ground beneath her.

"Damn it…" she shook with anger, "I just wanted ONE god damn day. One god damn day where I didn't need to deal with a single stupid thing."

"Hey now." Tara looked at her, then walked over to her placing a hand on Ashley's shoulder, "Just cause we've got a freak on the run, that doesn't mean we still can't enjoy ourselves. Right?"

Ashley glanced at her, "How do you mean?"

"We've got a birthday to celebrate, don't we?" Tara smiled, "so lets celebrate it. We deal with monsters everyday, there's no need to let one ruin this one."

"But, what about Viper? And Vainglory?" Alex asked as he stepped forward.

"We already booked our time to deal with Vainglory for later tonight," Tara told everyone, "and if Viper comes back we'll just beat him into the dust just like we do with the rest of the creeps like him. Today is for the Ice Queen, so let's give her a bash she won't forget!"

Cole managed a grin then looked to the others, "Tara… does have a point."

"You're damn right I do!" She boasted, standing with her chest out as she looked over Madison and the other riders, "So, what did all of you get the Ice Queen?"

"Um…" Madison blinked, raising her hand, "we just found out it was her birthday?"

Tara blinked back then sweat dropped "Oh…" She held her head then closed her eyes, "Okay, okay I think I got it!" She pointed to her friends, "You five go take care of that, and I'll fix up the Cafe to be suitable for everything else." She clapped her hands together, "We only have a few hours so let's go people!"

Carter looked to Cole, motioning to himself then to the earth rider. Cole with a grin nodded back to Carter.

"We're splitting into teams? Perfect!" Madison's face lit up, grabbing Alex by the arm and dragging him over to Ashley and scooping up her friend. "The three of us will be a trio then." She smiled at Ashley and Alex.

"Perfect?" The two rider's asked in unison, "How?"

"Cause," Madison pulled out her phone and brought up a photo of a girl in full pastel lolita attire. "The FOUR of us are gonna double date. Alex and I will shop while you mingle."

Ashley eyed the photo then nodded after a moment, "She's cute." she looked at Madison with a raised brow, "Who is she?"

"Sally Montgomery. She's in my Manga club," Madison told her friend with a grin, "and, I showed her a few pics of you and told her you were looking for someone and-"

Ashley placed a finger over Madison's lips before she could say another word. "Thank you," she said with a tear in her eye, "you're amazing."

"Don't mention it," Madison smiled back at Ashley, "it's the least I could do."

As this went on, a young boy and an older girl poked their heads out from an alleyway and stared at the riders.

"So… those are the kamen riders Desire told us to watch for?" The girl sucked her teeth, looking down to the B marked gaia memory she held in her hand, "they don't look like much."

"Still, I'd rather not run into them if I can help it," the boy told her, holding up his own gaia memory marked with an M. "Now then, shall we?"

The girl nodded, the two striking the activation buttons of their gaia memories. "BURGLAR! MIRROR!"

Marcoh walked into the front door of the station with his phone to his ear and his free hand holding his forehead.

"You… want me to do what?" He asked, trying to make sense of what the person on the other end of the line was requesting of him.

"Let Kat out to play for the night," Tara spoke from out from the phone. "If you can put her up in that nice penthouse cell, I'm sure you can take her outta the big house for one tiny night."

"I would certainly love to Ms Evonna, but do you realize just how big a favor you're asking here?" Marcoh asked. "Why are you looking to get her out anyway?"

"WE HAVE A RIDER'S BIRTHDAY TO CELEBRATE!" Tara barked at him, "Kat might be a dopant, but she's also my girlfriend! I refuse to let her spend a night of fun with her in chains!.. Well, unless she wants to be in chains! But that's a whole different conversation altogether!"

"Okay! I'll see what I can do… but I WON'T make any promises I can't keep." Marcoh told her firmly, "Just.. please stop talking."

There was a long pause from Tara then a bit of laughter, "Okay! Thank you Mr Marcoh!" She sang before hanging up the phone.

With a heavy sigh, Marcoh slipped his phone back into his pocket then rubbed his head before entering Sampson's office.

"Chief," he groaned, "What even is today?"

"I was about to say the same thing," Sampson told Marcoh from his desk, holding up his GMR scanner. "Three dopants, all downtown."

Marcoh slammed the door, narrowing his gaze upon the chief, "Where are the riders?!"

"Same place," Sampson told him, "I already informed them."

"THREE?!" Madison screamed as she stood in front of Alex in a clothing store downtown, tightly gripping her hair with her hands, "There are THREE running around this time?!"

Alex quickly covered her mouth then nodded, "Yeah.. Sampson said there are three this" he whispered to her. He a gulp, he looked around the store then sighed with relief as the other shoppers had seemingly continued to go about their shopping undisturbed. "But, I'd rather not disturb them with the info." He motioned towards Ashley and Sally who were standing just outside the small clothing shop.

Madison looked to the two girl then nodded in understanding. "So, we keep an eye out for mr snake to let those two mingle?" She smiled a bit.

Alex smiled back to her and nodded, kissing her on the cheek, "Sounds like a plan."

"Good, speaking of," Madison snapped her fingers before holding up a vibrant navy hoodie with a series of white triangles going up one side to form the illusion of a mountain range-esc pattern with snowflakes plastered all over the sleeves, "What are your thoughts on this?"

"Looks fine," Alex blinked, "not sure it's really you though."

"Good," Madison laughed a bit, "because it's for Shiore. It's her birthday, remember?"

"Oh!" Alex's eyes shot open before nodding, "Yeah, yeah that's actually perfect."

Outside the store, Ashley was looking over a pair of leggings with spider web pattern while Sally was eyeballing a frilly white dress with lace and ribbons covering it from top to bottom.

"So, how is it you know Maddy?" Sally asked, smiling at Ashley while batting her eyelashes at her.

"Friend of a friend," Ashley told her, smirking a bit, "well… met her through my ex actually. That's a long story though."

"Oh I bet it isn't," Sally giggled, "I'm ears if you want to tell me."

"Well, see her best friend Sarah and I dated from the second year of middle school to the first year of high school," Ashley's gaze drifted away from Sally's, her smirk fading in the process, "then I found out that Sarah had been in love with Madison the entire time and our relationship pretty much fell apart… then I went to jail… Ashley fell silent for a good long while before finally managing, "then Sarah died…"

"Oh…" Sally gulped, "I'm… I'm sorry to hear that…"

"Oh, you don't need to be sorry," Ashley told her, regaining her smile a bit as she took hold of Sally's hand. "Anyway, that's enough about me. Tell me a bit about you."

"Oh, me?" Sally blinked while placing her hand over her chest, "I… Um… I like cute things."

"NO!" screamed a slithering voice from the side Viper's forked tongue hurled towards Sally, Ashley gasping as she barrel rolled into Sally to get her to the ground and out of the way. Ashley gritted her teeth and gripped her Shift Memory before looking over to see Viper approaching with the crowd scattering. "This cannot be!" Viper screamed, stomping his foot into the ground repeatedly, "This cannot be! This cannot be!"

"Ashley," Sally trembled, "What in the hell is that?!"

"You don't wanna know. Just keep your head down," Ash told her as she jumped back up to her feet and striking her gaia memories activation button.

"SHIFT!" cried the memory as her driver appeared around her waist, Ash slamming her memory into her driver before switching it on, "SHIFT!" cried the memory once more as Ashley donned her rider form with her warglaives in had before rushing into slice Viper across his chest and knocking him down to the floor.

"You really can't take a hint?" she snarled, "can you?"

"SALLY!" Madison rushed out of the store, the now boxed sweater under her arm as she ducked down to her friends level, "Are you alright?"

Sally's eyes shot to Madison, "You all need Jesus!" she barked before picking herself up and running away with the crowd. Madison felt as her heart sank to her stomach as she watched her friend run away, her gaze drifting back to Shift and Viper a few feet away from her.

"STAR! RUNNER!" Roared from over Madison's shoulder, Alex rushing over to Ashley's side before hurling an uppercut into Viper's jaw which knocked him to the ground.

"Took you long enough Alex," Ash sucked her teeth, "now call that damn bird of yours so we can end this shit show." She pulled shift memory from her driver and slammed it into the maximum drive slot on one of her warglaives, "I am officially out of fucks to give."

"Ultimate isn't needed here," he told her, ripping his Star memory from his own driver before slamming it into his own maximum drive slot on the side of his belt, "this will be more than enough for him."

"STAR! MAXIMUM DRIVE! SHIFT MAXIMUM DRIVE!" cried both of their memories as they began to charge up, both rider readying their stances before leaping at Viper into an ultimate attack.

Viper raised his arms up, preparing for the impact only for a being with skin made of shattered glass to leap out from behind him and raise his forearms at the oncoming riders. His forearms formed into two solid mirrors.

"WHAT?!" Gasped Ashley and Alex. the riders colliding with the mirror resulting in the force of their own attacks being fired back at them and throwing them to the ground by Madison, breaking their transformation.

"Honestly Viper," the glass dopant sighed as they extended a hand towards the downed snake boy, "can you not think before you act?"

"I had her Mirror!" Viper barked at him, smacking his hand away as he climbed to his feet, Ashley and Alex still recovering from the pain. "I would have her if that stupid girl hadn't gotten in my way!"

"Your way, huh?" Mirror grabbed him by the throat, "Well you are getting in Desire's way. You're only making things worse for her goal." He said before throwing Mirror to the ground, "Now then, we're withdrawing for now."

Viper gritted his teeth, glaring at Ashley and Alex who were glaring back at him. "Fine!" he barked, getting up and leaping uptop a building before using it to run away, Mirror doing the same.

"Well, that's two of three," Alex winced as he forced himself to stand, Madison helping Ashley up, "now all we gotta do is find the third, get them all together and kick them into the dirt. Right Ashley?" Alex asked, but didn't get a response. He looked over to Ashley, raising a brow at her, "Ashley?"

The punk girl was looking around, her lower lip quivering, "Madison… where's Sally?" Madison and Alex both looked at her, their hearts swelling as they did so.

"She… she ran away when Viper attacked," as Madison managed to mutter, "I'm sorry."

Ashley struck a steel pole with her fist. "I'm gonna kill him…" she growled, "all three of them… I'm gonna kill them."

Across town, Cole and Carter walked down an empty street as the sun was beginning to set.

"Geez," Cole whistled as he looked up to the horizon, "hard to believe its sunset already. Always seems like there isn't enough time to get everything done, doesn't it Carter?" Carter kept his gaze fixed on the horizon, clenching a bag in his one hand while keeping his other hand in his pocket. "You uh.. Certainly went all in with your gift for Shiore, didn't you? Why is that?"

Carter stopped, turning on his heel before looking Cole dead in the eye. "Cole, is there a real reason you're asking me all these questions?" He narrowed his gaze at him, "because it's rather prying, don't you think?"

"Alright, you caught me," Cole let out a sigh then held his hands up, "Tara and I having been thinking the same thing… so, I'm just gonna be direct and ask it." He looked Carter dead in the eye, "It's about Shiore… what is she to you?"

"What is she, to me?" Carter repeated, eyeing the bag he held in his hand. He took in a big gulp, then exhaled as he felt his heart began to race. Time slowed around him, it only picking up once he finally said it. "She is spring."

"That's sweet," a voice echoed from all around them, the two riders gasping as their gaze darting over to street lamp only to see what appeared to be a black humanoid cat hanging off of it by their legs. "Of course, it takes more to unlock a frozen heart than just words," the cat said, holding up the same bag Carter once held in his hand, "and of course, this."

Carter gasped once again, looking to his now empty hand before balling it into a fist and pulling out his Ryu-O memory.

"Give that back!" Cole demanded, pulling out his own Rock memory, the two striking the activation buttons on their memories.

"ROCK! RYU-O!" cried the memories as Carter and Cole's driver formed around their waists.

"Big words," purred the dopant, "and what will you do if I don't?"

"Bad answer for you," Carter glared as he and Cole slammed their memories into their drivers, "perfect answer for me."

The two riders struck a wide stance before crying out in unison, "HENSHIN!"

Within the shadow of Vainglory's lair, the yellow eyed Rylee sat upon the black armored dopant's throne staring into the amber ring on her finger. In the gemstone's reflection were images of the riders and the three dopants.

"Well, this is more interesting than I thought it would be," she smirked while running her hand through Jason's hair who currently had his head on her lap. "Would you not agree my pet?'

Jason nodded, his once green eyes having a pale blue glaze to them. "Spite…" he muttered coldly, "Fata's vision… have you ensured that it will come to pass?"

"Of course, my lord," the false Rylee smirked as she transformed into the blue succubus that was Desire. "The boy now holds a gaia memory that was basked in light, and you have always held one of born in shadow. Those who hold memories of opposing elements are drawn to one another, whether they realize it or not."

"Then I need not lift a finger…" he closed his eyes as a tear ran down his face, "and our dream shall be realized.. right, Spite?"

"Yes my lord, now sleep for now," Desire cooed to him before kissing him on the forehead, Jason begining to nod off as a result. "Before this is over, the boy will come to you."

{Insert Ending Theme: "Magia" by Kalafina}

**Next time on Kamen Rider Ultimate Xtreme:**

Three dopants on the run, and the final battle with Vainglory is only hours away!

Can this night be salvaged with what has already been unleashed?

All will be decided when Kamen Rider Ultimate Xtreme continues in:

**Episode 43: Moonlight Dance**

_Yuki, lady or beast, what are you?_


	10. Episode 43: Moonlight Dance

**Episode 43: Moonlight Dance**

On warm summers day in Japan, a teenaged Shiore and her older brother Satoshi stood opposite one another in the courtyard of the Shirayuki house. They were both in kendo gear, both gripping a bamboo sword as they stared down the other. Their mother stood off to the side. She wore a loose fitting white kimono with a blue trim and a matching snow pattern. Her long navy blue hair was tied up into a messy bun, the woman holding a lit pipe as she watched both her children before raising her free hand.

After a moment, she swung down her hand, the two siblings dashing towards each other as a direct result to their mother's command. They seemed evenly matched, both parrying the strike of the other before returning with an even more powerful strike of their own.

This went on for sometime, Shion looking up and noticing sun moving a good amount in the sky until her attention was caught by a servant coming up to her.

"Lady Shion," the servant bowed to him, "you have a visitor."

"Oh?" Shion smiled warmly at the servant, " tell me Tanaka, who does me the honor on such a lovely summer's day?"

"Ryubee Sonozaki," the servant told her, "is what he said his name was."

Her smile dropped, turning into a glare as she crossed her arms while shifting into a more upright stance, "What was does that loathsome creature want with me?"

The sudden harsh words of his mother caught Satoshi's attention. His gaze drifted towards Shion as his sword slowed, allowing Shiore to land a hard whack onto the top of his head.

"Got you big brother," Shiore giggled, only to be shushed by Satoshi as he raised his hand over his mouth then pointed to his mother and the servant. Shiore blinked, raising a brow in confusion as she looked toward her mother.

"He didn't say," the servant told her quietly, "he is in the parlor, right now."

"Any of his goons?" Shion asked.

The servant shook his head, "Only his eldest daughter."

With a smirk, Shion shook her head and laughed, "Perfect." She looked to her son and motioned towards herself, "Satoshi, with me please."

"Yes mother," Satoshi bowed he and Shiore both placing down their swords before hurrying over to their mother.

Shion stared at Shiore for a moment, managing to force a smile at her daughter before reaching out a hand. "Shiore, my dear." She spoke as she undid her daughter's braided ponytail allowing her long hair to flow down her back, "I think it's about time for your father's medicine. Would you mind getting it to him, with his favorite tea?" She managed a slight laugh as she cupped Shiore's cheek, "you know how he loves to complain."

Shiore nodded, "Yes, of course mother. Right away." Her own smile widened before she bowed to her family and Tanaka before running off to the other end of the house with a wave.

"Mother, Tanaka could have gotten the tea… why send Shiore off?" Satoshi asked, looking over to see Tanaka handing Shion a sheathed katana.

"There are many things in this world I'd rather your sister be kept safe from," Shion told her son as she slipped the sword into the sash of her Kimono. She looked at her son in the eye with a sharpened gaze, "the demons who cling to the Sonozaki name are one of them."

On the other side of the house, Shiore sat at her father's bed side as he drank his tea with a slight cough between sips.

"Careful father," Shiore cooed with a grin as she took the cup back from him, "you don't want to burn yourself."

"Thank you, Shiore," Otoya smiled at her, patting her on the head. "With you here…" he coughed once again, "I'm already starting to feel better."

"That's good," Shiore smiled, "I was thinking, once you're all better we could maybe take a trip?"

"A trip?" Otoya raised a brow, "to where?"

"Fuuto," Shiore told him, "I know its a bit windy, and kinda muggy over there right now. But it looks like there's a lot of fun stuff to do there."

"Shiore," Otoya grinned while shaking his head, "I hate to burst your bubble, but nothing good ever crawled out of Fuuto."

"Tell that to my children then," Shiore pouted, holding up a keyring loaded up with small mascot charms. "You know I'm a sucker for mascots, and Fuuto's is one of the good ones I'm missing."

"I see…" Otoya let out a heavy sigh, eyeing the tea pot, "alright, I suppose I could be convinced…" he looked up to his daughter as he regained his grin, "with another cup of your tea of course."

"Sure," Shiore nodded, slipping her keyring away as she picked up the tea pot. "Uh oh.." she muttered, finding out that the pot was empty once she picked it up.

"Oh no…" Otoya frowned, "are we all out of your tea?"

"Not to worry," Shiore smiled, collecting the pot and the cups back on to the trey she had carried them on as she stood back up. "I'll go make us some more."

"You Shiore, are going to make a very good wife someday to a very lucky someone," Otoya told her as he laid himself back down.

Shiore playfully glared at her father, "Should they earn me first."

Otoya laughed, wiping a tear that formed in his eye. "You're reminding me more of your mother the older you get."

"I wouldn't go that far.." Shiore muttered as she walked off, "mother is… a rare beast of a lady to say the least."

On the other side of the house, Shion sat in her family's living room with her son on his knees by her side. She shot a glare to the older gentleman and younger woman who across from her, blowing out a puff of smoke from her lips before putting out her pipe.

"Sorry," she spoke gruffly, "but neither of my children are for sale. Unlike you, I do not marry my children off to the highest bidder for personal gain." She shut her eyes, looking away from the pair. "We are done here, now leave."

Ryubee's oldest daughter Saeko glared at Shion. "How could be so rude?!" She asked, gritting her teeth. "I would show some respect to your guests if I were-"

Ryubee held a hand out in front of his daughter, silencing her in an instant. "Very well, we will honor your decision," the old man smiled as he got up, then bowed. "It was my hope to add your family to my museum, but your decision is yours to make. Good day to you and yours, Ms Shirayuki."

Saeko looked to Ryubee, "Father." She muttered under her breath.

Ryubee glared at Saeko, "They gave us their answer, now it is time for us to leave." He regained his smile in an instant, motioning his daughter towards the door.

The pair made their way out from the Shirayuki house and back onto the street, a well dressed butler bowing to them as they opened the door. Before either of them could enter the car however, a loud boom shook through the sky as Ryu-O landed feet first only a few feet away from their car.

The ground broke apart, Ryubee standing still with a grin as Saeko fell to the ground. Climbing back to her feet, she slapped on her dopant driver and pulled out a golden gaia memory.

"Why you!" She roared at Ryu-O.

"Saeko," Ryubee called out to his daughter, causing her to look back to her father. "This matter does not concern us." He pointed back to Ryu-O, Saeko looking back to see that the snarling hunched over Ryu-O was marching towards the Shirayuki house.

Saeko froze, looking back to her father once again, "Then… what should we do?"

"We were asked to leave," Ryubee smirked, getting into the car, "so we will leave." Saeko got in, the driver closing the door behind her as Ryubee sat back comfortably. "Let this be a lesson to them, that I hope they will learn from."

Back with Shiore, the young girl walked along the outer corridor of her house.

"Yuki wa shiroku, daichi wo somete. Sora he tsuzuku michi wo tsukuru. " She sang to herself as she headed back to her father's room with a trey in her hands that carried two new cups and a fresh pot of tea. Musunda te ga, maboroshi no you de, tooku mieru senaka ni fureta... "

She stopped suddenly, her eyes catching a small spark as it flew down from the sky above and landed on top of the teapot. Her eyes shot open as she let out a gasp. Her gaze was then drawn to the front of the house where she could now see black smoke billowing up and into the air which darkened the sky.

Shiore dropped the trey, hot tea and shattered china going everywhere as she darted towards the fire. "Mother!…" she panted as she ran, "Brother!"

{Insert Opening Theme: "Alones" by Aqua Timez}

As the sun began to set over Ardent City Alex and Madison walked along the docks at the Ardent City waterfront. With their hands locked together stayed behind, they watched Ashley trudge along further down the walkway with her head hung in defeat.

"We are gonna find that dopant," Madison whispered to Alex, "right?"

Alex looked to his girlfriend, managing only a slight nod.

"Guys…" Ashley spoke up as she placed her hand on a bench while letting out a heavy sigh, "think we can take a rest for a minute?"

Alex and Madison exchanged a glance then nodded to each other. "Yeah, of course," they said in unison, Ashley instantly sitting down on the bench and just slumping into it. Her head rolled back, allowing her eyes to stare blankly up to the sky.

Alex pulled out his phone then pulled Madison off to the side, "I need to give Carter and Cole a call, see where they're at." Madison took one glance back to Ashley then followed Alex, the two heading over to the end of one dock.

Ashley's trance was disturbed after a moment once she felt something lumpy underneath her. Glancing over to her left, she found that she had been partially sitting on a half opened prussian blue duffle bag.

"Oh come on," she groaned, pulling the bag out from under her only for it to fall from the bench and onto the ground. "OH CRAP!" Ashley jumped as the contents spilled onto the ground, quickly shoving everything back into the bag before unveiling under the clutter a fully uncovered M9 Beretta pistol. She froze, her hand hovering over it as her heart beat slowed to a halt, "Oh crap… is this loaded?!"

"Nah, it's not loaded," Ashley heard coming from in front of her.

Ashley's heart stopped, slowly poking her head up to see a curvy yet muscular young woman standing above her. In spite of how cold it was out, she only had on a blue pair of sweatpants and a tight fitting white tank top. With her long brown hair tied back in a ponytail, she stretched her arms out which allowed her biceps to flex. Ashley's heart skip a beat as a result, starting it up again at a faster pace.

"Oh, that's a bit of a relief then," Ash managed an awkward laugh, trying her best to not stare at the girls arms as she got up and handed the bag back to her. "Sorry, it fell over. I wasn't trying to steal anything, I swear."

"Hey, shit happens. I did just leave it there after all." The woman said while taking the bag from Ashley and while extending a hand to Ashley, "Name's Kayla."

"Armsley," she blurted out while taking hold of Kayla's hand, her face turning bright red as she did so. "Gah! I mean Assley." Her face turned a brighter shade of red, "ASHLEY! I'm Ashley!"

"Well, nice to meet you Ashley," Kayla chuckled, relaxing into a warm grin at the girl in front of her. "So, mind if I ask what you're doing here?"

Ashley huffed. "Wondering where in hell my life went wrong," she said with a sad laugh.

"Ah, I ask myself that question too." Kayla said with a sigh and a nod. "But, in asking that question you should also ask this," she looked to Ashley and raised a brow at her, "what can you do from here on?"

Ashley looked at her and blinked, her heartache beginning to fade the longer Kayla spoke.

"Well…" she gulped, "Maybe by not beating myself up over things I can't control could be a start?" The slightest sense of a grin coming to her face.

"That's the best start," Kayla said with a warm smile. "Because if you focus on the stuff you can't control, all you'll do is make yourself depressed and regretful. Besides, someone as cute as you shouldn't be either of those things."

Ashley's eyes widened, her heart fluttering as she looked to the girl in front of her. "Y-You... You think I'm cute?" She asked as she began to blush.

Kayla nodded, "I also think you should call me sometime." she winked at Ashley as she handed her a card. "Sorry if I don't answer right away… or even for a bit actually. I'll be at boot camp once I get back to the states."

"Oh… you're in the military?" Ashley asked, her heart racing as she took the card "how much longer are you here for?"

"Only till tomorrow sadly. I've been up here visiting some family." Kayla said while putting the strap of her duffel bag over her shoulder.

"Speaking of, I gotta get going. But hey, next time I'm up here or you're in Seattle; let's get to know each other, kay?"

Ashley laughed a bit, "I'm a bit too broke to fly out to Seattle right now."

"Then how about you and me go for coffee next time I'm in town?" Kayla asked her. "My treat."

Ashley smiled at her then nodded in agreement, "I'd love to."

With that, Kayla headed off with a wave goodbye which was returned by Ashley with a wave of her own. It was only after Kayla was well on her way that Alex and Madison came up to Ashley, Alex slipping his phone into his pocket while Madison pulled out her own.

"Who was that?" Alex asked, raising a brow as he looked down the road just before Kayla disappeared over the horizon.

Ashley smirked, holding up the card she had been given, "A golden ticket, that's who."

Madison's eyes shot open, "She gave you her number?!" She screamed with a grin, nudging Ashley on the shoulder with both of her fists, "Nice going there Ash you sly beast you!"

"I am not," Ashley laughed, continuing to blush as she fixed her gaze on the card she held in her hand, "I just… happened to be in the right place at the right time."

"Right place or not, I'd write that number down in your phone or something," Madison told her with an ever widening grin, "or even just put it away for now."

"I know, I know," Ashley told her with a nod, still staring at the card, "just… let me look at it for just a second longer, okay?"

"NOOOO!" Roared a slithering voice from off to the side, Viper's forked tongue swiping the card right from Ashley's hand before dropping it into his own from where he stood facing the docks.

Alex and Madison gasped, Ashley simply glaring at Viper as she hopped the bench. "Now that was the biggest mistake you've made all day you scaly little twat."

She pulled out her gaia memory, as did Alex. The pair struck the activation buttons to dawn their drivers. "SHIFT! BLAST! DIVER!" Cried the memories as Alex came to Ashley's side.

"HENSHIN!" Shouted the pair.

With a flick of their wrists, they opened their drivers to their active positions. "SHIFT! BLAST! DIVER!" roared the memories once again as their respective armor formed around them with a raging typhoon for the both of them.

"I've got your back Ash," Alex said as he aimed his Corona Blaster at Viper, "do what you've gotta do."

Ashley nodded to Alex then refocused her gaze upon Viper with a glare. "Listen up worm!" She barked at him, "hand over that card right fucking now or I'm gonna make sure you won't be able to breath upon of the mauling I was gonna give you regardless," she said, pulling her warglaives off her hips and raising them agressively at the dopant, "got that?"

"You… want this…" Viper held up the card, "that badly?" He smirked, "If I return it?... Will you go out with me?"

Ashley gritted her teeth at him, "Get bent." She snarled.

"Get… bent…?" Viper tilted his head to the side as he gripped the card with both his hands. He sucked his teeth then shook his head, "Wrong answer." With one quick motion, Viper tore the card into several pieces and tossed them into the air laughing maniacally as he so.

The two riders and Madison gasped, Alex ripping the Diver memory from his driver and quickly replacing it with another memory before resetting his driver.

"BLAST! RUNNER!" cried the two memories as Alex rushed over to Viper, his bottom half switching from teal blue with fins on his shins to vibrant red with sneakers on its feet.

"Aw, what are you gonna do?" Viper laughed, only to gasp as Alex leapt into the air to catch as many card scraps as he could.

A quick slash from Ashley's glaives rushed over him, knocking Viper to the side before forcing him into a tumble to the ground.

"Eyes down here you worm," Ash said with a glare, aiming her glaive at him.

As Alex landed on the ground, he opened his hand to eye ball the scraps. "That all of 'em?" He questioned.

"Oh, I wouldn't concern yourself over that," a voice called out as Mirror came down from above and landed in front of the still kneeling Alex, "cause I'm about to rip YOU to pieces."

Off to the side, Madison watched in a panic while frantically texting Cole the same message of 'Dopant by the water front!' followed by 'HELP!'

"Come on Cole," she gripped her phone and bit her lip, "Where are you two?"

In a side street across town, the cat like Burglar dopant dashed from lamp post to lamp post in their attempts to dodge oncoming fire balls that seemed to lag only slightly behind their movements. Burglar looked over their shoulder, gritting their teeth to see Carter in his Ryu-O form rocketing towards them from the air.

"Damn it!" Burglar grunted, eyeing the bag they still clenched in their hands, "what the hell is this that's got these two so barking pissed at me?"

Burglar turned their gaze forward once again, only to gasp as Cole leapt up in front of them in his Rock form. He gripped his hammer with both hands, resting it over his shoulder as he stared down Burglar.

"Bad Kitty," He said in a flat monotone before swinging his hammer at full force upon Burglar.

The raw power behind Cole's swing shot Burglar into the brick wall of a building. With a loud splat and an impression being left on the wall, Burglar fell into the alleyway below the wall and landed on a pile of garbage.

"Me… ow…" Burglar groaned, looking over to the side only to find Cole and Carter standing above them and glaring down to them with their weapons tightly gripped in their fists.

"Last chance," Carter told Burglar firmly, aiming the Ryu-O buster at their throat, "now hand it over."

Burglar gulped, holding the bag up. "Yeah- Sure, take it!" They

Carter swiped the bag, looking inside and grabbing the small box that it carried. "Cole, you handle the rest."

"Gladly," Cole pulled his Rock memory from his driver and slammed it into its slot on the Rock Smasher.

""ROCK! MAXIMUM DRIVE!" The memory cried as the blade on the back of the smasher flipped forward into an axe, the weapon itself beginning to charge while Cole raised the axe over his head.

"WAIT! I GIVE!" Burglar pleaded, holding their hands over their face, "PLEASE DON'T!"

"Sorry, rules are rules," Cole told them before bringing the axe down upon Burglar, cutting through the dopant form and shattering the memory in one blow.

As the dust cleared, a lean girl with teal hair in a grunge style outfit lay knocked out where Burglar once was.

Cole blinked, "A girl?" He questioned in a surprised tone of voice.

"People can do stupid things under the right circumstances," Carter said as he and Cole pulled their memories from the drivers and reverted to their civilian forms, "what gender they are hardly matters."

"I suppose that's true…" Cole said with a sigh, giving the girl a sad look as he knelt down beside her. "Guess I'll call Sampson."

Cole dug out his phone while Carter opened the box he held to reveal a silver heart shaped locket with a snowflake molded into the face of it and a dial on the side of it. Along the edge were the words 'Snow Falling.' Gripping the dial, Carter wound it up a bit before releasing it and allowing the locket to play a chilling yet comforting melody with a slow almost lullaby like tempo to it.

Cole checked his phone, reading the several texts he had gotten from Madison before shooting to his feet. He turned on his heel, looking Carter in the eye, "We have to go."

Back at the waterfront, Alex chased after Mirror through a nearby park while passing civilians evacuated the area upon seeing the combatants. Aiming his blaster at Mirror, he unleashed a barrage of shots only for them to be absorbed the moment they touched the dopant's reflective skin.

"What?!" Alex gasped, pulling his gun back as he stopped dead in his tracks.

"You idiot!" Mirror laughed at Alex, turning to face him while placing his hands on his hips, "those types of attacks have no effect on me!" He raised his left arm until Alex's image was reflected within the mirror shield he wore on his forearm. "You on the other hand."

Suddenly, the shots Alex had just fired from the corona blaster were launched out from the shield and back at Alex. The rider ducked to the ground as the blast struck the earth around him, kicking dust and rocks into the air.

Mirror continued to laugh as bits of rock rained down on him, only for one stone to strike him right between the eyes. "Huh?" Mirror winced, holding his head before checking his reflection in his mirror shield. "WHAT?!" He gasped himself. To his horror, the center of his face was now cracked.

Gritting his teeth, he looked back to Alex as the dust cleared only to find Madison standing over her rider boyfriend with an arm of rocks and a rage filled glare in her eyes directed at Mirror.

"COWARD!" Madison shouted as she continued to hurl rock after rock at Mirror, the dopant being forced to raise both his shields just to defend himself, "YOU'D BE DEAD IF YOU DIDN'T HAVE THOSE SHIELDS TO HIDE BEHIND!"

Alex's eyes shot open as he noticed the shields beginning to crack more and more with each stone Madison threw. "Madison," Alex called to her calmly.

"WWHAT?!" Madison roared, snapping her head around to look at Alex in the eyes of his mask. She blinked, then blushed, "Oh…" she spoke far more gently, "Yes?"

"I know how to be beat him now thanks to you," he said as he rose to feet, closing his driver and pulling the Diver memory from it and replacing it with Star. "I can handle it from here. Now get behind me."

Madison nodded then quickly hopped behind Alex. Alex narrowed his gaze upon Mirror and clenched his fist tight, "Cole, Tara, Carter… Shiore," he thought to himself, "lend me your strength, wherever you are."

A caw filled the air as the Xtreme memory descended from the sky and connected to Alex's driver, Alex himself pulling out the Maximum memory from his back pocket.

"Aw, what now?" Mirror continued to laugh, "you think some bird is gonna save you?"

"I was really hoping I wouldn't need it, but you've left me no choice," Alex stepped towards Mirror while placing the Maximum memory into the Maximum Drive slot on the side of his belt. "Your rampage ends here."

Alex split his driver open once again, "MAXIMUM! XTREME!" Roared the two memories as Alex ascended to his bright pink final form, the Maximum Defender forming on his left arm with X-Calibur housed within it.

As Alex drew X-Calibur from the Maximum Defender, Madison stood in awe of the new Xtreme that stood before with her hands clasped together. "Whoa…" she muttered under her breath, "so cool."

"Pink?!" Mirror laughed, tilting his head to the side. "What self respecting man wears pink to a fight and expects to win?!"

Alex swung his sword down upon Mirror, shattering both of the dopants shields with one stroke. Mirror was left breathless, his whole body being shook as Alex raised up his foot and knocked Mirror to the ground with a swift kick to the gut.

"This one," Alex boasted, shooting his sword out to the side.

"YOU LOOK GOOD IN IT AL!" Madison cheered from the side lines. "ONLY THE MANLIEST OF MEN WHERE PINK!"

"Thanks Maddy!" Alex called back to her, looking down to Mirror. "Now then, we're finishing this."

Mirror began to sweat, "W-What are you gonna do?"

"Good question, what with me being on my own," Alex said as four gaia memories flew out from the center of his rider form and inserted themselves into a slot on X-Calibur's guard. "Guess I'll need to improvise."

"BLADE! MAXIMUM DRIVE! KICKER! MAXIMUM DRIVE! BLAST! MAXIMUM DRIVE! DIVER! MAXIMUM DRIVE!" Cried each memory as they slid themselves into place, a fifth memory shooting out from Alex's armor and into hilt. "STAR! MAXIMUM DRIVE!"

"IMPROVISATION!" Shouted Alex as he rose the fully charged X-Calibur before bringing it down upon Mirror, "ALTERNATIVE MEMORY STORM!"

Mirror cried out as his dopant form broke apart in an explosion, the memory he housed within him ejecting itself from body before shattering in the process.

Back at the docks, stood at the water's edge with his back to the ocean with Ashley marching towards him from in front of the snake like dopant.

"Y-You have no reason to be doing this!" Viper barked as he shook in fear of the advancing rider, "I-I know you better than anyone! I'm just a nice guy who wants to date you!"

"First, if you were as nice as you say you are, you'd get the fact that no means no," Ashley told him firmly as she came to a halt only a few feet away from him. "Second," she slipped one of her warglaives onto her hip, then raised the now free hand she had held it with while staring him dead in the eye, "if you really knew me as well as you say…" she continued to raise her hand until it was over her head, "you'd know how far in over your head you are right now."

"W-What?" Viper muttered.

A few drops of water fell onto his shoulder from above as a shadow began to cover the ground he stood on. He quickly looked up to see a massive bubble of water right over his head, catching a glimpse of it before it was dropped onto him with the quickly lowering of Ashley's arm. Contorting the body of water with hands, she forced Viper in a respectful kneeling position and shifted enough water so that only his face was unsubmerged.

"I'll give ya a tip though," Ashley told him as she ripped her shift memory from her driver, "the next time you like someone, get to know them for real. And clean yourself up too, that doesn't hurt either."

"SHIFT! MAXIMUM DRIVE!" roared her gaia memory as she slipped into her warglaive, pulling her second one off her hip.

"WAIT!" Viper pleaded, "CAN'T WE TALK?!"

"Sorry, we're done here," Ashley told him firmly, raising up her glaives and ducking into a leap ready stance. She pulled back on the trigger in her warglaive before jumping at Viper. "SHIFTING TYPHOON!" Ashley cried out, cleaving through Viper with her fully charged warglaives and shattering his dopant form with memory along with it.

Ashley landed on the surface of the water behind Viper, raising the density of the water itself so she could kneel on its surface. Viper meanwhile fell to his knees, "I'M A NICE GUY!" He barked as sparks flew off him seconds before bursting into an explosion.

Desire sat outside Vainglory's lair, eyeing the three defeated dopants from the gemstone of her ring.

"Hmm, they lasted a lot longer than I was expecting," she smirked, "though it was a nice distraction for a time." The image in her ring shifted to that of Shiore who sat alone in her condo, sanding down the blue crystals in her arm with a file. "Regardless, I'd say its high time we move on to the main event."

Back at the waterfront, Junn and the former Mirror dopant being cuffed and shoved into the back of a patrol car by Marcoh and Sampson. As the two officers slammed the door of the car the trio of ex-dopants stared at each other then let out a unified sigh.

"So, how long are those three going to be put away for?" Carter asked, glaring at Burglar from where he stood behind the officers.

"Probably anywhere from a few days to a month," Sampson told him, "given their ages and small nature of their offences."

Carter looked him in the eye, "But they might have hurt people!"

"Under the influence of META's gaia memories," Marcoh told him firmly, "or would you like to join them in there, given your history with the organization?"

Cole stood beside Carter, glancing to him before looking to the two officers. "They're only victims, right?" Cole asked, "Taken advantage of due to their.. circumstances?"

"Exactly," Sampson nodded. "Given the right push, anyone will do anything when they're desperate. That's the sad fact about being human."

"Speaking of desperate," Marcoh spoke up, looking Cole in the eye, "I received a fairly desperate call from Tara earlier this afternoon."

Cole and Carter sweatdropped.

"Oh yeah," Sampson grinned ear to ear, placing his hands on the boys' shoulders. "Something about Ms Fubuki's birthday, right?"

The two boys nodded as they shook under Sampson's tight grip. "Yeah… what about?" Cole managed a nervous grin.

"Marcoh and I.. we are invited," Sampson raised a brow as he met Cole's gaze, "right?"

Cole's grin widened, "If you want to be."

"Great, than the gifts we bought months ago won't go to waste," Sampson smiled, releasing the two as he went back to the cop car.

"Months ago?!" Cole jaw hit the floor. "You mean you two knew this whole time?!"

"We are the police Desmond," Marcoh told him, "you all gave us your personal information when you registered as defenders of the city. Ms Fubuki included."

Carter raised a brow at Marcoh, staying silent.

"Oh.. I see…" Cole muttered, "what.. what else do you know about her? Just curious."

"Sorry Desmond, but Ms Fubuki asked us not to disclose that information. Even to you or the other riders," Marcoh told him.

"Now then, with that all cleared up," Sampson cleared his throat, opening the door of the second cop car that did not hold the three dopants. "Shouldn't we be going?"

Cole nodded then looked to Alex, Madison and Ashley who sat on a bench by the shore. "Can you maybe, give them a minute?"

Alex held out the scraps of the card he caught in his hand, "Sorry Ash… but this was all I managed to grab… I'm sorry..."

"Its okay," Ashley held her face, letting out a heavy sigh, "it isn't your fault the universe hates me today."

"I told you to write it down Ash," Madison chimed in, patting her friend on the back.

"Maddy…" Ash shot a glare at the other girl, "Not in the mood."

"I know…" Madison looked at her, holding up her phone which displayed a perfectly readable photo of the card with Kayla's number on it, "that's why I took this," she smiled at her friend, "just in case."

Ashley stared at the photo in disbelief, her lower lip quivering as she reached out her hand to grip Madison's phone. "Maddy…" she muttered, "have I mentioned how much I love you?"

"I love you too Ash," Maddy smiled while managing a chuckle, handing her phone over to Ashley. "Now do yourself a favor, call her and ask her out."

"But she's going home tomorrow," Ashley told her, looking up to meet her gaze.

"I know," Madison crossed her arms, continuing to grin at Ashley, "which is why you're going to ask her out tonight."

"What about the party?" Ashley looked to Alex, "and Vainglory?"

"I'm sure the others will understand, and I'll call you when its time to face my fath- face Vainglory," Alex said with a grin of his own, placing his hand onto Ashley's shoulder. "The way I see it, you've more than earned this."

Ashley stared at the two of them, tears flowing down her face. "Alright," she nodded, wiping her eyes as she got up and dialed the number. "Alright I will…" she raised the phone to her ear, the phone rang a few times before it was finally picked up. "Kayla?... Its me, Ashley…" She called out, her face bright red as she thought over her next words carefully, "Would now be a bad time for that coffee?" She nodded once, then again. "Alright," she smiled from ear to ear, "I'll be there."

{End of Part A}

{Start of Part B}

An hour or so passed by and while night fell upon Ardent City, Tara stood in the now snow themed Cat's Eye staring up at her faithful bird Kree as he hung streamers to the ceiling.

"A little to the left…" she instruction with a motion of her hand, "a little more… more… more…" the streamer snapped, part of it falling onto Tara's face. She blinked for a moment, then gave Kree a thumbs up. "Perfect."

"You do know that I am a gaia memory guardian, right?" Kree asked his partner, fluttering down to perch on her shoulder, "Not a party planner?"

"I know," Tara grinned, petting her friend on the head, "but everyone knows its easier to hang stuff when you have wings."

Kree managed a slight chuckle, "Fair point, my lady."

"Partner," Tara glared at the bird on her shoulder, pointing a finger at him. "No titles with us."

Natalie looked up from where she sat a table, cutting out chibi versions of Shiore from construction paper with white wolves to go with them. "Are you talking to me or the bird?" She asked, taking a sip from the bottle beside her. "Cause it's starting to confuse me… What with you apparently being the only one who can actually hear him."

"Well maybe if you were shit faced, it wouldn't," Tara stuck her tongue out at her manager as she hopped over to the table Natalie sat at. "Speaking of-" she swiped the bottle, "you're cut off."

"Hey!" Natalie tried to grab the bottle but missed and face planted onto the table. "I haven't even.. drunk that much.." she yawned.

"Oh Natalie," Tara cooed, patting her sleepy manager on the head. "Yes, yes you have." Her smiled continued as she looked over her manager's work with the chibi Shiores and wolves, raising a brow at one that looked off.

"They're bad I know…" Natalie yawned once again, "cut me a break, you gave me one photo of the girl. One very blurry photo of the girl."

"Oh no, its not that," Tara laughed a bit as she held up the piece that caught her attention. "But… may I ask why you clued a wolf head onto one of the Shiore bodies?"

Natalie poked her head up and stared at her mistake, "I dunno…" she blinked, "blame the booze." She muttered before her head slammed back down onto the table.

"Natalie… do you want to go home?" Tara asked, patting the older woman on the head once again.

"I'm not leaving you in charge," Natalie let out an even heavier yawn than before.

"Okay," laughed Tara with a grin, "then how about you rest until you sober up a bit?"

Natalie gulped, then after a moment to think about it she nodded, "Deal. Just.. let me rest my eyes, okay?" She yawned once more while her eyes began to shut, the woman with chestnut hair falling asleep almost instantly.

Tara grinned warmly to the sleeling Natalie, pinching her cheek when the chimes at the front of the cafe sounded. Tara's face lit up as she whipped her head around to the door.

"There you guys are," she smiled as Alex, Madison, Cole, Carter and Sampson entered the cafe. She placed her hand to her lips, motioning to Natalie as she approached the group. "So, how was your hunting?"

Carter and Madison each held up the bags containing their gifts, Sampson holding up two.

"A bit of a small haul.. but I think it will do," Tara look to them with a nod. She did a head count, then raised a brow, "But we're missing a few people, aren't we?"

"Marcoh had to drop off our troublemakers at the station," Sampson told her, "but he should be along in time."

"Good, good," Tara nodded before looking to Alex and Madison, "what about Juicy Butt?"

Madison and Alex looked at each other, a smile coming to both their faces. "She has a date," they said together, "but we'll call her once it's time for the after party."

"A date?" Tara blinked, "and she didn't think to invite them?"

"Out of the question," Madison told her, forming an x with her arms. "Rider business ruined her date with the girl I set her up with. We won't be taking our chances with the new girl just yet."

"Fair enough," Tara held her hand up, placing her other hand on her hip. "Now then, I hope you all had fun today because it's time we get serious."

"Serious?" Alex raised a brow at her. "I thought we were throwing a party."

"We're throwing a party for Shiore, and do you see her standing here?" Tara asked, motioning to beside herself. "Someone is gonna need to go and get her."

Madison raised her hand, "I uh.. I know where she lives."

"Then I'll give you a ride," Sampson volunteered. "It'll be a lot faster if I-"

"I'll go," Carter pulled out his Ryu-O memory as he headed for the door. "If I fly, I'll be there and back in a second."

"Oh! Okay…" Madison gulped. "Wait, do you even know where you're going?"

"Tara has my number," Carter told her, "have her text me the address." He slammed the door to the cafe as he made his way out, the cafe falling so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

"What uh…" Alex finally spoke, "what was that about?"

"Seriously?" Tara glanced at him, dumbfoundedly. "Do I need to spell this out for you?" Alex nodded, Tara proceeding to smack him upside his head "You idiot! He likes her!"

"Ow!" Alex barked out in pain before rubbing his head. "How was I supposed to know?"

"Its pretty obvious, kiddo," Sampson said with a grin.

"Yeah, even I coulda told you that much," Madison chimed in, Cold simply nodding in agreement.

"Geez.. was I the only one who didn't know?" Alex questioned.

"Well… there might be just one other person who's as dense as you are about these things," Tara smirked as she held up a finger. "But I have a feeling that she is about to find out."

Outside the cafe, Carter walked down the cold night street. With a heavy heart beat he could feel in his feet, he gripped his phone in one hand and his Ryu-O gaia memory in the as he awaited the address. As his phone buzzed, he raised it to his face about to red it when he suddenly felt a sharp pulse shoot off from the Ryu-O memory.

He raised a brow at the memory, slipping his phone into his pocket before lifting the memory up a bit. Lifting his arm, the memory began to glow the closer it got to the sky line. He moved it to the right, resulting in the glow fading. Realizing this, he moved it towards the left which made the glow stronger. Passing a cluster of tall buildings in the distance, the glow faded ever so slightly which made Carter shift it back until the memory was the brightest it could possibly be.

He narrowed his gaze upon a tall building on the horizon. "There," he muttered to himself.

The young man struck the activation button of his gaia memory. "RYU-O!"

Within the shroud of her darkened condo, Shiore sat before a mirror with her sleeve pulled up. She was continuing to file down the crystals on her arm until they were smoothed out nubs that just barely passed her skin. The only source of light in the room was a single lit candle, which sat beside the mirror.

Shiore's gaze was locked on her arm, the girl letting out a sigh as she inspected her work. A heavy sigh escaped her lips as she placed her arm down, covering her arm again with the sleeves of her shirt and sweater. She then glared at the Shira memory which lay on the table in the center of the room next to the Yuki memory and a single kunai knife.

Suddenly, a crackling spark that broke off from the candle beside her causing her to jump back with a gasp. After a few rapid breaths, she glared at the spark which had burned into the table that held her mirror. Leaning over the candle, she blew it out in a single breath.

"Father!" Her own voice echoed in the back of her head, Shiore finding herself back to that night three years ago. "Father, are you alright?" Her past self called out, clinging to the older man who knelt coughing on the floor beneath her.

The pair were in a bunker below the Shirayuki house. Satoshi was by their side with his hand, but his eyes were fixed on his mother who stood by the bulkhead steel doors at the front of the bunker. Armed servants stood around her and a sword was gripped tightly in Shion's hand.

"Shiore…" Otoya muttered between coughs, cupping his daughter's cheek as he managed a grin while turning his head to her. "Worry about yourself, not me. It's my job to protect you and your brother after all."

As Otoya spoke, a loud bang erupted from the other side of the door. All eyes turned to it, Shion gritting her teeth.

"So, it's found us," Shion said as she drew her sword. "Tanaka," she called to her one servant while keeping her gaze fixed upon the door, "Take Otoya and the kids, get them as far away from here as possible."

Tanaka looked to Shion with a heartbroken look, then quietly nodded. "As you wish… my lady…" he said as he went over to the back wall where Shiore, Satoshi and Otoya were before pulling on a wall to reveal a secret passage.

"NO!" Shiore cried out bolted to her mother only to be caught by Satoshi, "I'm not leaving! Not without you mother!" Tears ran down her face as she squirmed, trying desperately to get out from her brother's grasp.

Shion took one look at Shiore, then turned her back to her. "Shiore…" Otoya coughed, forcing himself to stand as he looked to his daughter, "listen to your mother.. if you and Satoshi die here, then its all over for us."

Shiore froze as she stared at Otoya, "Father… what are you…"

Otoya kissed Shiore on the forehead and patted Satoshi on the head. "Satoshi, hold on to your sister," he told his son looking him in the eye. "No matter what, you are not to let her go. Do you hear me?"

Satoshi nodded, Shiore trembling as her brother looked to Tanaka. "Young lord… we must go," Tanaka told him, leading the siblings down the passageway.

"FATHER!" Shiore cried, reaching her hand out to Otoya as she was pulled away from him. "MOTHER!"

Once his children and Tanaka were through the passageway, Otoya closed it before taking his place at his wife's side. He gripped her hand as a servant handed him a sword of his own, the two staring down the bulkhead door as the demon on the other side continued to bang it's fist down upon it.

"Otoya…" Shion muttered, a single tear running down her cheek, "you are a fool."

"Of all your suitors, you still chose to marry me," Otoya managed a smirk, glancing towards her, "do you regret that now?"

"There is not a second of my life that I regret," Shion told him.

"Even this part of it?" Otoya asked, glancing back to the door as the banging continued.

Shion managed a smirk of her own, Ryu-O's fist tearing its way through the door only inches away from her face. "Especially not this part of it."

Within the escape tunnel, Tanaka and Satoshi ran out from it and into a small parking garage filled with black cars with the wolf emblem of the Shirayuki family emblazoned on the doors of all of them.

Tanaka and Satoshi darted to one of the cars, the old servant unlocking the front door while Satoshi went to the back. With each step he took, Shiore never stopped hitting him on either his shoulders or his arms.

"BROTHER! PUT ME DOWN!" She continued to cry, "We have to go back! Mother and Father are still in there! We can still-!"

Before Shiore could say another word, the escape tunnel they had just left from erupted into an explosive ball of fire. A gasp escaped the lips of Shiore, Satoshi and Tanaka as their eyes were grabbed towards the inferno.

With a demonic snarl, Ryu-O marched out from the fire with only a stumble to his step and a single katana driven into his side. The siblings knew from a glance as the demon ripped out the sword from its body and tossed it towards them, the sword belonged to their mother.

Satoshi stared down the demon, then eyed his sister. With a trembling grip, the boy opened the back door of the car and threw his sister into it, locking the door before slamming it in her face as she tried to get out.

"Tanaka," the boy said firmly as he turned his gaze towards Ryu-O, "take Shiore… and get her as far away from here as you can."

Tanaka simply nodded, getting into the driver's seat as Shiore stared at Satoshi from the inside of the car. "Big brother?..." She muttered as Satoshi pulled out the Yuki memory from his pocket, Tanaka staring the car and driving away. "BIG BROTHER!"

Satoshi raised up the Yuki memory as he stared down Ryu-O, hitting the activation button. "Yuki!"

Satoshi closed his eyes, the yuki driver forming around his waist. "Henshin…" he spoke softly as Ryu-O stood only feet away from him, eyeing the gaia memory the boy held with a snarl.

The car drove towards the exit of the garage, Shiore slamming her fist down on the headrest of the seat in front of her.

"DAMMIT TANAKA! TURN AROUND!" She barked at him with tears staining her cheeks, "I'm not leaving without him!"

"It was your brother's orders I get you out of here, and since he is the head of the house no.. his word is to be taken over your own," Tanaka told her, swallowing his emotions as he eyed Shiore in the rear view mirror, "Besides, even if we did turn around, what could you possible do against that thing?!"

"I CAN FIGHT!" Shiore barked once more at him, Tanaka slamming his foot down on the break which stopped the car dead in its tracks.

"No you can't Lady Shiore…" Tanaka gripped the wheel of the car, turning his head back to look the girl dead in the eye with his own that were shaking. "Shion and Otoya, even your own brother.. They all stayed behind to give you a chance to get out safe. Don't you see that?"

"Of course I do!" She told him, "but how can I live with myself if I just sit here and do nothing?!"

Tanaka's heart sank to his stomach, the old servant taking in a big gulp. "You don't have a single clue what that thing is.." he muttered to her, "Do you?" Shiore shook her head, to which Tanaka let out a heavy sigh, "they call it, Kamen Rider Ryu-O, champion of the Hono clan."

Shiore's eyes widened, "You mean.. It's the same as our own Kamen Rider Yuki?" Tanaka nodded, Shiore looking back over her shoulder and out the rear window. "Then that makes even less sense.. I thought the Hono Clan was destroyed the others!"

"Destroyed or not, it's still out there," Tanaka turned himself around and placed his hands back on the wheel. "Which I'm going to do all that I can to protect you." Before Tanaka could so much as move the car, he suddenly heard the back down open with footsteps quickly following. He gasped, whipping his head back around to see Shiore running back to where in the direction that had just left from which was now engulfed in fire. "LADY SHIORE!" he called out to her, "COME BACK HERE!"

With a heavy breath and even heavier steps, Shiore ran back to the flames with her fists tightly clenched. "Please big brother…" she panted as her heart began to swell, "please be alright."

With a sudden gasp, she stopped dead in her tracks as her eyes shot open in horror. The sight before her was one Shiore would never forget, that of her older brother Satoshi beaten and torn in one hand of Ryu-O, with the yuki driver and gaia memory clenched tightly in the other. The demon snarled as he held the belt, staring at it longingly.

Fighting back a series of violent trembles, Shiore balled both her hands into fists before charging right towards Ryu-O and grabbing her brother. "LET HIM GO!" She demanded, punching Ryu-O in the cut on his side, "RIGHT NOW!"

With each punch Shiore threw at him, Ryu-O was barely phased. Turning ever so slightly to the girl who was wailing on him desperately with all she had, he tossed Satoshi to the ground then drove the fist he held the driver in right into Shiore's gut.

With a heavy wince and a cough of blood, Shiore caught Ryu-O's fist and stared him dead in the eye with rage, sadness and terror in her own. "You aren't getting rid of me that easily," she spat at him, ripping the yuki driver and memory from his fist, "demon!"

As Shiore ripped the driver from him, Ryu-O knocked her away with a heavy punch to the side of her head causing her to crash to the ground next to her brother. Holding her head, she got up almost immediately and looked to her brother.

"Brother?!" she called out to him, gripping his hand and checking for a pulse. The moment she grabbed his cold hand however, she realised the very cruel reality she found herself in as her heart sank deeper than it had ever sank before. She gritted her teeth, beginning to emit a snarl of her own as Ryu-O began to slowly approach her.

She rose to her feet, slapping the Yuki driver onto her waist as she stared him down. She gripped the driver she now wore, about to activate it when suddenly a pair of red orbs broke through the ceiling of the garage. One struck Ryu-O and the second hit the ground close to Shiore knocking her from her feet once again.

"Dammit," Muttered Shiore as clawed the debris from her eyes, looking back to where Ryu-O stood before. "What the hell now?!" Her heart stopped as in Ryu-O's place lay a boy with white skin in a red shirt with a brown head of hair.

Those were the only details that Shiore could make out, as Spite flew down from above and stared down the boy. "My darling, look what you've done?" she sighed, paying no mind to Shiore or her brother on the opposite side of her. "Looks like we'll need to do some further testing," she spoke as she knelt down and scooped the boy up, "and keep your locks tighter as well."

Shiore glared at Spite, gritting her teeth at the green dopant while reaching out a hand to grab her only for Spite to fly up and out from the hole she had made in the ceiling. As Spite got away, Shiore balled her hand into a fist and struck the ground beneath her, curling up into a ball beside her brother as she began to cry.

"Lady Shiore! Master Satoshi!" Tanaka's voice called out as he ran up to the scene, falling silent with a gasp once he saw what had happened.

"Tanaka…" Shiore muttered between sobs as she gripped her brother's body. "I swear… I swear Tanaka so help me…" She wiped her face, staring up at the hole as her sobs transformed into a beastly growl. "I will not rest, not until Ryu-O, and everyone else he is connected to…" she gripped the driver around her waist, "is dead!"

With sudden knock on the window of her condo, Shiore was snapped back to the present. She looked over to the doors that lead over to the balcony, which currently had the curtains drawn over it. Slowly rising to her feet, Shiore grabbed the Yuki and Shira memories and slipped them into the pockets of her sweater. She blinked for a moment as she eyed the kunai knife that lay on the table as well, deciding after a moment to pick it up as well and slip it into her sleeve.

Stepping quietly towards the balcony doors, she drew the curtains. Once they were opened, she took a step back once she saw the face of Ryu-O standing on the other side of the glass. Glaring at him, she slid open the doors.

"What do you want?" she asked, gripping the knife she concealed under her sleeve.

Carter stared at her, letting out a breath, "You… actually…" he extended a hand to her. "Tara decided to throw you a party, considering its your birthday tomorrow and all… so, I came to collect you."

Shiore narrowed her gaze at him, taking yet another step back, "How does she know when my birthday is?" she asked him directly.

"I… was the one who told her…" Carter admitted, extending a hand to her, "I say it in your file at the station… I'm sorry."

"Save it," Shiore told him, raising a hand as shades of purple began to swirl in her vibrant blue eyes. "It doesn't matter how she knew. Tell her that I appreciate it, but I'm not going." She glared at him, "I'm busy."

"Busy with what?" Carter glared at her, raising a brow under his mask. Shiore didn't answer, which resulted in a huff from Carter. "That's what I thought, now come on." Without letting Shiore protest, Carter reached forward and took hold of her hand before lifting her onto his back.

"Hey!" Shiore barked as she was pulled onto Carter's back, "What are you doing?!"

"You'll see," he told her. Without a second of delay, Carter kicked off the rail of her balcony and took off into the night sky.

Shiore gritted her teeth with a snarl, her arm pulsing for a moment as the violent energy began to invade her eyes once again. Both however were retracted the moment Shiore looked down to the city below her, then up to the moon that lit up the sky without a cloud in sight. For the first time in a very long while, Shiore simply allowed herself to breath and take in scene that was in front of her. It was truly a perfect night.

The view she was being shown however was only to last a moment, as just as quickly as Carter had taken flight he landed once again on a dock floating on the water's edge. Upon touching the ground, Carter set Shiore down. He held her hand with one of his own as he pulled the Ryu-O memory from his driver and powered down as he turned to face her.

"Now then," he spoke, looking her in the eye, "what's the real reason you don't want to go? Everyone put a lot of work into this, and it's all for you." He told her as he gripped her hand, "Don't you see that?"

She stared at him, tightening her own grip around the hand that held hers as she looked into Carter's eyes. "I'm going home tonight… that's why…" she told him.

"Are you serious?!" Carter barked at her, pulling her forward as he placed his hand on her shoulder. "What about the party? What about Vainglory?!"

Shiore shook, turning her head away from him to avoid his gaze, "The others will be fine… without me..."

"Don't be ridiculous," Carter told her, grabbing her by the chin and forcing her to look him in the eye. "Yuki.. we need you.. I need you."

"Ryu-O…" she muttered, the shades of violent returning to her eyes as she stared into his, "... did you do it?"

"What do you mean?" he asked, raising a brow.

"You know what I mean," Shiore narrowed her gaze at him, "did you do it?"

"Yuki… I could never," Carter gulped before throwing his arms around her. "I… I love you."

Shiore's heart skipped a beat as the male held her tightly, the girl wrapping her own arms around him as she gripped the kunai knife under her sleeve.

"Ryu-O…" she muttered under her breath. "You're a liar."

Before Carter could react to what Shiore had said, he felt a sharp pain from the girl he held plunging her knife into his back. With a gasp from the both of them, the pair released each other from their grasp as Shiore jumped back, dropping her blood stained knife as Carter dropped to his knees. With the violent in her eyes fading in an instant, Shiore locked eyes with Carter as they both shook all over. Turning on her heel, Shiore was about to run away when Carter grabbed her sleeve.

"Wait!" he called to her.

"Don't touch me!" Shiore barked, pulling her arm back only for her sleeve to rip and reveal the blue crystals underneath. They had grown back out, and were pulsing more violently than ever.

With another gasp from the two of them, Shiore's eyes swelled up with tears. Without another word, she turned back around and took off into the night leaving the bleeding Carter on the dock still clinging the scrap of Shiore's sweater.

Back at the Cat's Eye, Cole held Tara on his shoulders while she attaching the remaining streamers to the ceiling, Madison arranging Shiore's gifts in a neat little pile on a table off to the side while Alex sat beside her staring out a window to the night city. Feeling a sudden pain in his gut, Alex jumped to his feet resulting in all eyes in the room turning to him.

"Alex…" Cole spoke, raising a brow, "something wrong?"

Alex looked Cole in the eye, balling his hands into fists, "Carter and Shiore…" he muttered, "we have to find them. Now."

Back with Shiore, the girl held her pulsing arm as she ran along the waterfront. After a while, she eventually reached the end of the water front's boarwalk, falling to her knees upon realizing she could no longer go any further in her current direction. Staring out to the water for a moment, her eyes drifted down to her crystal covered arm than grabbed one of the pale blue shards as tightly as she could. Gritting her teeth, she pulled down hard on it and snapped it in two.

"GAH!" she cried out in pain, the agony from the snapping of the crystal being enough to force her onto her side. "Dammit…" she trembled, "Damn it all… to hell…"

"Oh my," a soft voice cooed from behind her, "that certainly looks painful, doesn't it?"

With a gasp, Shiore looked to the source of the voice to see Ms Seraphina standing behind her with a smirk on her face.

"What do you want?!" she snarled at the woman, holding her now bleeding arm.

"Oh no my darling flower," Ms Seraphina knelt down in front of her and cupped her cheek, reaching into her pocket and pulling out her Desire memory. "It is what you want that matters to me." She gently caressed Shiore's cheek with her thumb. "So tell me, that boy," she raised a brow, "you wish to kill him, don't you?"

Shiore glared at Ms Seraphina, smacking the Desire memory from her hand, "Mind your own business! Get away from me-" She reached into her sweater pocket and pulled out the Shira memory, "before I-" he arm pulsed again, the shards growing out even further causing Shiore to drop the Shira memory onto the ground.

"Nice attempt at thwarting me my flower," Ms Seraphina cooed to her, picking up the Shira memory as she continued to cup Shiore's cheek. "But unfortunately for you…" her skin turned pale blue, her wings sprouting from her back as she assumed her succubus form, her yellow eyes staring into Shiore's, "my power is not bound to something as simple as a gaia memory."

Shiore shook in the grasp of the being before her, "Who… what are you?"

"I am Desire," the demon told her, placing the Shira memory into the slot on Shiore's driver, "and I am about to make yours come true." With one simple motion, Desire slid the driver into its active position.

"SHIRA!" roared the memory, Shiore letting out a cry of agony as the power of the memory overtook her.

Shiore's cry echoed through the waterfront, transforming into the howl of a wolf by the time it reached Carter who stood clinging to the rail on the docks with one hand and the wound on his back with the other.

He froze, raising his head to the direction the howl erupted from as his heart beat slowed to a crawl. "... Shiore…"

{Insert Ending Theme: "Magia" by Kalafina}

**Next time on Kamen Rider Ultimate Xtreme**

With the battle with Vainglory only hours away, the riders find themselves facing one of their own.

Will Shiore's story end the way Carter's began?

All will be decided when Kamen Rider Ultimate Xtreme Act Five continues in:

**Episode 43: Shira's Midnight Howl**

_Yuki, remember who you are!_


	11. Episode 44: Shira's Midnight Howl

**Episode 44: Shira's Midnight Howl**

Marcoh drove up to his apartment building in a patrol car, unlocking the driver side door and opening it. Placing his foot out of the car, he was frozen in place as the howl of a wolf echoed through the street. His eyes were fixed to the direction the howl came from only for him to quickly turn his gaze to the back seat of the car.

"Wait here, I'll be back in a second," he instructed before getting out of, slamming his door and heading inside. Reaching for the remote in his pocket, he locked the car doors as he darted up a tall flight of stairs.

Moments later, he swung open the door to his apartment. Scanning the room, his heart skipped a beat when he found that it was empty.

"Looking for something?" A voice called out from behind him, the cold steel of a gun being placed to the back of his head as Rylee stepped out from behind the door and slamming it closed.

Marcoh glared towards the woman who held a gun to his head. "Not entirely…" he glanced towards his wall mounted safe that sat wide open along with the rest of his apartment that looked like it had been ransacked, "but it's clear that you are."

"Where is it?" Rylee cocked the gun she held to Marcoh's head while holding up a gold gaia memory "my real Spite memory."

Marcoh smirked, "So, you realized it was a fake?"

"Shut your mouth!" Rylee barked at him, pressing the gun barrel further into the man's skull. "Now where is it?!"

Marcoh held up his hands, narrowing his gaze upon Rylee as he reached into his coat pocket and pulled out the Spite Memory. Rylee threw the fake one to the ground, it shattering upon the floor as she swiped the real memory from Marcoh's hand.

Gripped it in her hand, she struck the activation button. "SPITE!" Roared the memory while Rylee stared at it longingly.

"Finally… I have it back…" her lip quivered. Rylee dropped the gun to the floor then

slammed the memory into the driver she wore around her waist, transforming into her dopant form in an aura of twisting green smoke.

In the heat of the moment, Marcoh ducked to the floor and grabbed the gun before darting back up to his feet and aiming the gun at Spite with his finger on the trigger.

"So what now?" Marcoh glared, "you gonna run back to your master like a dog on a leash?"

Spite sucked her teeth at Marcoh, conjuring an explosive red orb in the palm of her hand. "You think you know me?"

"I know that you are better than this," Marcoh told her. "If you run back he'll only throw you away the moment you're no longer useful. Even you must see that."

Spite narrowed her gaze at Marcoh, then lowered the hand she held the orb in. With a swift motion, she threw a punch into Marcoh's gut knocking the wind out of him.

"Before you speak," she muttered, dropping Marcoh to the floor, "consider the fact that you are wrong."

Without a single word more, Spite chucked her red orb at the sliding glass doors that lead to Marcoh's balcony. Glass and chunks of wall scattered everywhere as Spite flew out from the whole and into the night sky.

Grabbing the gun, Marcoh clawed to his feet and aimed the firearm at the airborne dopant. With Spite in his sights, Marcoh's hands shook as he gradually pulled back on the trigger only to drop the gun to his side and punch the nearby wall.

"Damn it Rylee," he grunted, "you idiot."

{Insert Opening Theme: Alones by Aqua Timez}

At the edge of the dock, Madison patched Carter's wound as the two sat on a bench. Alex stared down the walk way, feeling his heart ache while Cole watched as Tara paced back in forth. The girl had her eyes shut tight and was repeatedly biting her nail.

"SHE STABBED YOU!" Tara barked, coming to a halt and flaring her arms out in front of herself. "We go to the trouble of throwing her a nice party, you buy her this expensive looking thing,-" she held out the gift Carter had bought Shiore, pointing to it a million times in under a second "-THEN YOU go out of your way to escort her to said party , even tell her that you LOVE her! AND SHE STABS YOU!?"

"Maybe she just… panicked?" Madison suggested, patting Carter on the back once all his bandages were in place. "There, you're lucky she didn't get ya anywhere important."

"More like I'm lucky you're the kinda girl who carries a first aid kit everywhere," Carter told her, raising a brow at her.

"Oh, this?" She patted a small padded case with a red cross on it, "I only put it together when Alex told me the whole fighting Vainglory thing. Figured you'd all need a fix up once it was over, since you can always can hurt when comes to fighting a war…" she let out a sigh, losing her smile for a moment, "or finding love…" She looked Carter in the eye. "Speaking of… what exactly did you do to her?"

"What did HE do to HER?!" Tara barked, gesturing to the bandages Madison had just placed while looking the girl in the eye.

"I meant before that," Madison gave her a stern glance. "I talked to her this morning, and I.." she hung her head, "I lied… okay…"

Alex looked at Madison, raising a brow, "Lied… Madison, what do you mean?"

"I mean that, she didn't say anything about being busy… I made that up," she confessed. "I asked if she would be going to the cafe to meet you guys, and she asked if Carter would be there. I said yes, and she told me… that-"

"She wouldn't go," Carter finished her sentence, looking her in the eye, "if I was there?"

Madison nodded. "Shiore.. she doesn't seem like the biggest fan of yours," she told him. "Did you two have a fight or something?"

Carter opened his mouth, only for another voice to fill the air before he could say a word. "Oh, you could say that," Desire said with a laugh before immerging from the ice cold water and stepping onto the dock, "though I would not waste your breath asking poor Ryu-O about it. From what I've gathered, he doesn't remember doing a thing to that girl but I will assure you he has."

"HURRICANE! BITER! MAXIMUM! XTREME!" Roared the memories of Tara, Cole and Alex as they stepped forward together in a line.

"Tara," Alex spoke firmly, drawing X-Calibur from the Maximum Defender, "get Madison somewhere safe."

Tara simply nodded, taking Madison by the arm and swinging her onto her back.

"Be safe," Madison said as Tara kicked off the ground with her on the wind rider's back.

"Alright you witch," Carter glared at Desire, gripping the Ryu-O memory in his fist, "what the hell have you done with Shiore?"

"Calling her by her first name now are you?" Desire chuckled with a smirk, "silly boy, I haven't done a thing to that poor little flower." She looked up and behind the three riders, "what she will do to you however..."

A stone cold snarl filled the air as the three riders turned to where Desire had point her finger, the trio freezing in place with a unified gasp at the sight of pale white girl covered in the fur of a wolf made of ice.

"Ryu-O…" she hissed, her icy claws gripped the lamp post she clung to. Her snarl continued as she fixed her gaze upon Carter.

"RYU-O!" Roared Carter's gaia memory as he slammed it into his driver, transforming into his rider form with his sword in hand with a spin of his belt and a burst fire.

"You witch!" He barked at Desire, swinging his sword at the demon woman only for the wolf girl to leap between them and catch the Ryu-O Buster in her claws.

With Ryu-O in her sights, the wolf slashed her free claw across the fire rider's chest.

"Oh my," Desire laughed as the wolf girl tore through Carter's armor, "looks like she wants to have the first go at you, little dragon."

Carter gasped, ripping the blade from the wolf girl's grasp before leaping backwards to Alex and Cole.

"We'll handle these two," Alex told Carter, he and Cole stepping in front of him, "you find Shiore."

"We already found her," Carter panted, pointing towards the Yuki driver that clung to the wolf girl's waist as she marched towards them with her gaze still locked on Carter. "That girl IS Shiore."

Alex gasped, looking at the wolf girl, "What?"

"Then we'll face her together," Cole told him, switching on his laser swords.

Before either Alex or Cole could take one step, a thorn covered whip wrapped around each of their ankles. Desire smirked, gripping the handles of the whips before pulling the two riders towards her and hurling a powerful punch to their faces.

"Sorry to disappoint you boys," cooed Desire as the pair fell to the ground, "but I shall be your entertainment for this evening's… festivities."

Alex gripped his X-Calibur, shooting a look to Cole who gave a slight nod in return. At the drop of a hat, the pair shot to their feet and cut the whips with their blades.

Cole then grabbed the severed whips with each of his hands as Alex bashed Desire with his shield, knocking her to the ground.

"Tie her up!" Cole told Alex, tossing a whip to him.

As they took a single step forward, Desire's eyes shot a glare to then and flared bright red. With a roar, her silk hands changed into dark furred claws as she rushed towards them.

High up in the sky, Tara flew through the air holding Madison bridal style. The red haired girl held her phone to her ear, letting out a grunt before hanging it up.

"I can't reach Ashley," she told Tara as the wind rider touched down in front of a police car with Sampson at the wheel.

"Geez, she sure picked a bad time to get her issues worked out," Tara huffed as she set Madison down.

"Yeah, we'll have our issues if we don't do something about that dopant fast!" Madison told her.

Tara turned on her heel, striking a heroic pose with her driver bound arm held high. "That's what we're here for."

"You're going back there then?" Madison asked.

Tara nodded, "If it weren't for Kree and I, those boys woulda died a long time ago." She managed a chuckle, "especially Superstar."

"True," Madison managed a grin of her own, "and thank you Tara… for looking out for him for me."

"Man," Tara let out a huff, "don't thank us until AFTER the day is won, got it?"

Madison nodded, "Right, now get going already."

Tara dawned a more serious expression, nodding as she took off.

"Tara," Kree spoke to her as she flew off, "are you sure you aren't scared?"

"Are you kidding?" Tara laughed, "I'm always scared just before a fight."

Back on the ground, Sampson let out a sigh as he watched Tara fly off. "So, we're just gonna wait for them to sort this all out?"

"Not exactly," Madison said, looking to Sampson with a stern gaze and clenched fists, "how fast can we set up a police blockade around the combat zone?"

Sampson raised a brow, noticing the Homura ring around her finger and the ninja storm red ranger key gripped within her fist.

Sampson smirked, his radio in hand, "Couldn't have said it better myself."

Back on the waterfront, the ice wolf dopant Shira slashed away at Carter with her claws who parried each of her attacks with the flat side of the Ryu-O buster, cracks beginning to form in the blade with each strike it took.

"So, this is how you want things to end?" Carter asked, gritting his teeth as he held back Shira's claws, "Trying to kill me while tethered to a leash?!"

Shira stopped her claw mid swipe, then kneed Carter right in the gut.

"OUF! Winced Carter, falling to one knee with only the blade of his sword propping him up which held tight even with the wind knocked out of him.

"Oh my," Desire smirked at Shira and Carter, blocking the attacks of Alex and Cole with her claws without even looking. "That sounded like it hurt."

"WHY!" Barked Alex as one of his swings came dangerously close to Desire's throat, only for her to catch it by her wrist with only the slightest of movements. "WHY HER?!"

Desire glanced at Alex colded, "So only now, when it's come to this, you finally care about her?"

"The hell are you on about?! We cared about her from the start!" Alex protested, taking more swings at Desire with his sword only for all of them to be blocked. "She, she and I were at odds when we met. But we helped her! We all did!"

"You offered your aid in her pursuit of justice, that is true," Desire stared him down, knocking Alex away with a simple flick to his forehead. "But if I recall correctly, not only did you fail to do so… You welcomed her prey into your group with open arms."

"Liar!" Cole swung at her, only to be flicked away himself.

"The only liars, are the two of you," Desire told them with a stern gaze. "She sat there, waiting for her problem to be dealt with, and you all let her down. Face the truth, she is like this because of-"

As Desire ranted off, two yellow arrows of light whistled through the air and stuck her body. The first cut off her head while the second carved through her waist, slicing her into thirds within an instant.

"That's enough out of you!" Declared Tara as she touched down on the ground.

"They broke one of my avatars…" Desire stared into the reflection of her ring, now sitting comfortably with a dark void made entirely of blood red cables "impressive."

"Does that mean you're finally leave that stupid city behind?" A voice called out from the shadows with a yawn as an amber haired seraph who hung by her knees on a ring made of bones rose up from below, "Sister?"

"Don't be so rude dear Selias," Desire looked to the Seraph with a smirk, "that stupid city is my garden, and I refuse to let it be until all my flowers are in bloom."

"Well it better be quick," scoffed Selias, the ring she clung to continuing to rise, "the Usurper is growing tired of your games."

"Oh trust me, darling sister," Desire looked down the casm beneath her to an army of demons, all baring the likeness of various mythical creatures, "the Usurper will be pleased by the fruits of my labor."

Back on the waterfront, Tara extended a hand to Cole and Alex to help them up.

"Thanks," panted Cole, he and Alex returning to their feet.

"Anytime," Tara quickly looked to Carter and Shira as the wolf girl slashed at Carter with her claws, Carter raising his sword at the last possible second to block the attack

Alex looked at Desire's body on the ground and gulped, "Did you really.. kill her?"

"So what if I did?" Stated Tara, locking her gaze upon Shira and drawing back her bow on the wolf girl, a pair of arrows form in the bow, "She was gonna kill the both of you if I didn't."

Narrowing her gaze, Tara released her arrows and fires upon Shira. Both arrows ripped through the air and struck Shira on the side of her head, knocking her to the ground.

"Tara!" Alex barked at her, "that's-"

"Shiore," Tara cut him off, gripping her bow, "I know." She then rushed over to Carter and pulled him to his feet while Shira remained on the ground, "You've got a plan big bro?"

Carter watched as Shira clawed her way to her feet, "At the moment?" He asked before shaking his head, Shira once again staring him down with her fangs and claws barred at him.

"Then how about I offer a suggestion?" Tara looked to him, opening her hand to reveal the necklace Carter had bought for Shiore.

"What's that going to do?" Carter asked.

"Not a clue," she admitted, tossing it to Carter with the fire rider catching it in his free hand, "but it's a start."

Alex watched this from the side with Cole. "We gotta help," he told his friend.

"That we do," Cole pointed to the remains of Desire that were beginning to twitch and move on their own, "but not directly."

Gripping his sword, Alex took a wide defensive stance as Desire's body parts cried out in pain and contorted. The cracking of bone and tearing of flesh echoed through the air as they moved, followed by the screams of what sounded like hundreds of souls crying out in terror. From the cuts on Desire left by Tara's arrows sprouted veiny blue spider lefts, raw flesh webbing strung between then.

The sight before the two riders made them feel as though they were going to be sick, as the three former fragments of Desire became three large muscle bound bodies of indescribable horror. Their limbs appeared to be spider legs bound together into thick combat ready appendages, while their skin had the pattern of screaming human skulls sewn through out. The only other detail the two riders could so much as comprehend was a singular beedy red eye that sat atop the base of each of their headless necks. Whatever they were, they were far from human.

"What the hell are those?" Cole muttered between gags.

"Doesn't matter what they are," Alex narrowed his gaze upon the three horrors that stood before him, aiming his sword at them and raising his shield, "they aren't getting past us."

Just outside the combat zone, a few blocks away stood Madison by a line of patrol cars. She looked up to the sky with her hands together, gripped around her ring and Red Ninja Storm ranger key. Her heart pounded within her chest, as Sampson stood beside her.

"Chief…" she muttered under her breath, "what do we do now?"

Sampson looked up to the sky as dark clouds began to roll in over the waterfront. "Hope for the best."

Unnoticed by Madison or Sampson, a pink glimmer sparkled through both the ranger key Madison gripped in her hand and the ring she wore on her finger.

Back at the waterfront, Alex and Cole fought off the horrors with the goal of keeping them away from Shira, Tara and Carter.

The wolf girl dopant meanwhile darted at Carter, firing off huge shards of ice from her claws before leaping into the air with her claws aimed at Ryu-O. Carter, while holding his side with one hand, blasted the ice shards from the air with his free palm mounted fire cannon.

He struck the final shard just in time to block Shira's claws with his gauntlet as she came crashing down upon him. Shira sniffed the air, then eyed Carter's side where blood was beginning to seep through his suit.

"Hurts doesn't?" She snarled, kicking him where Shiore had stabbed him.

Throwing in two more kicks, Carter winced as he took the hits only for Tara to rush and knock Shira away with the edge of her Hurricane Smiter's blade form. Shira did not fall to the ground this time however, instead latching on to both blade of the Smiter and lashing at Tara with her fangs.

"Come on Ice Queen!" Tara barked at her, holding the wolf dopant back with her blade, "I knew you had issues, but so does everyone else! That's no reason to let that mad succubus wrap you around her twisted finger! You're stronger than this! I know it!"

"What the hell do you know about anything?!" Shira snarled at her, Carter's eyes drifting down to the necklace he held in his hand. "That bastard robbed me of everything!" With each word Shira spoke, Carter held the dial of the necklace and wound it up more and more. "Now move! Or you'll die with him!"

"No way in hell!" Tara barked, shoving Shira back a few feet.

Shira's being trembled, sobs echoing from her before phasing into laughter as she rose back to an upright position and aiming her claws at Tara.

"As you… desire…" Shira narrowed her gaze upon Tara, firing off a barrage of ice shards upon her filling the air with dust and mist.

Shira's laughter continued as the dust cleared, only to freeze when she saw the target she had hit. Panting like mad with both his fists clenched, Carter stood in front of Tara with both his arms out to the side. Opening his fists, the necklace he held fell to the ground as his rider form shattered, the young man falling to one knee as he stared down Shira.

"If you want someone to kill…" he breathed, the necklace falling open as it skipped across the ground, "it shouldn't be anyone else.. but me.."

Shira shook as the chilly melody echoed from the open necklace that now lay in front of her. As the music entered her ears, the voice of her mother came along with it being dragged up from the depths of her mind. " "

With her trembling quickening, Shira knelt down to the ground and closed the necklace. "Did you… bring this to mock me…?" She muttered, picking up the necklace in her claws as tears began to run down her face.

"No one is trying to mock you!" Tara barked, lowering her weapon as she rose to her feet. She placed her hand on Carter's shoulder, "he got that for you! Because he loves you!"

Shira gasped, staring at Carter who in turn looked back to her. She was about to speak, when suddenly she felt something break deep within her. Dropping the necklace, the wolf girl hunched herself over gripping her heart as her entire body began to pulse.

With the second pulse, her back arched over as she let out an ear shattering scream of agony before firing off thousands of ice shards from her claws.

Carter stared in disbelief, his lack of energy making him only able to watch as Tara switched her Hurricane Smiter into its bow mode, aimed and fired at each shard that came near him and Carter.

"Damn it girl!" Tara gritted her teeth, the string of her bow beginning to burn her fingers more and more with each shot she fired, "What the hell are you doing now?!"

As Carter watched Shira, his glazed over eyes sharpened upon the wolf girl as he noticed her body beginning to grow ever so slightly in size. He gasped, Shira's claws and shape taking on a far more beastly form with each passing second.

In an instant, he clawed his way back to his feet and pulled his memory out from his driver before darting passed Tara and over to Shira, dodging each shard that so much as grazed passed him.

Over by Alex and Cole, the pair held back the horrors as a shard of ice struck one of them in the eye with two hitting the other in its shoulders.

"What the hell was that?!" Cole jumped, looking over his shoulders along with Alex.

The moment he fixed his eyes upon Shira, Alex had the image of Sarah transforming into Reptilian slip over Shira in his mind.

"No…" his voice trembled, slashing two of the horrors across their chest with X-Calibur before making a mad dash towards Shira, "Not again!"

"ALEX!" Cole barked at him.

The moment he did so however, one of the horrors transformed its arms into whips and used them to ensnare both Alex and Cole before slamming them to the ground. The other two horrors meanwhile leapt over to Shira, one landing in front of Tara and hitting her hard in the gut.

"OOF!" Cried Tara, her transformation breaking as she fell to the ground.

The other horror meanwhile landed in front of Carter, grabbing him with one fleshy hand before ripping the Phoenix Memory from his hand with the other.

"You may have been able to stop the others, my brave little heroes…" Desire's voice echoed deep inside the ears of each of the riders as Shira continued to grow into a massive white wolf made entirely of icy fur, "but you cannot… stop..." Shira's claws crashed down on the horror that held Tara, destroying it instantly as the beast let out an earth shaking howl, "Desire."

Within the hold of the horror's whip, Alex gripped X-Calibur, "Like hell I can't!" He roared.

With one single swing, he cut free from the whip and slashed the horror across his chest, destroying it and freeing Cole and himself.

In the skies above, Spite looked down upon Shira as she flew above the beast.

"Yuki… has shattered?" she muttered to herself. She fixed her gaze upon a tall skyscraper not far from the beast and began flying towards it. "Lord Vainglory needs to know about this."

Back on the ground, Shira's head lowered itself down to look Carter in the eye with a snarl. Gripping its claws into the ground, it began to open its jaws.

"So Shiore…" Carter thought to himself, the horror holding him in place as he stared into Shira's maw, "this is what you wanted?" He took in a deep breath, closing his eyes. "So be it then… I'll go with you… to the grave."

As the jaws of the beast closed around him, Alex rushed in between its fangs and grabbed Carter by the shoulder before cutting the horror that held the fire rider. The slash hit its mark and destroyed the horror just as Shira's jaws closed around the two riders, the beast raising its head and swallowing.

Cole and Tara stood on the ground, frozen in place as Shira looked down to them. With a snarl, it opened its maw to reveal that it was empty.

Cole's heart sank, "A-Alex…"

Tara's whole body fell limp as she stared into the beast's empty maw, "Big brother…"

{End of Part A}

{Start of Part B}

Carter lay still with his eyes shut as he floated through a white void. A hand came down and grabbed him by the shoulder.

"Carter?" A voice called to him, the hand shaking him, "Carter! Wake up!"

With a gasp, Carter awoke to find himself on the floor of a library made of ice with Alex looming over him in his rider form.

"Xtreme… Alex…" he spoke with a strain to his voice as he sat himself up, looking around his new environment, "where are we?"

"I know just about as much as you do," Alex told him, handing back Carter's Phoenix and Ryu-O memories to him. "But I think we're.. inside Shira… somehow…"

"That would explain a few things," Carter said, taking the memories as the two riders stood up. "But then… where's Shiore?"

"You two ask a lot of odd questions," giggled a voice from above. The two looked up to see a pale little girl dressed like a wolf standing on the ceiling and looking down to them. "Now here's a better question, what are the two of you doing all the way up there?"

"Up?" Carter raised a brow.

"How do you mean?!" Alex called down to her.

"Silly boys," giggled the little girl, "you're on the ceiling."

"What the?" Asked Carter and Alex as the fell down to where the girl was.

"Thats better isn't it? Having your feet on the ground?" The small girl smiled at them, helping the boys back to their feet with a single hand to each of them.

"Who are you?" Carter asked the girl, looking her in the eye.

"And what is this place?" Alex threw in.

"A better question is what you silly boys are doing all the way down here," said the girl, pointing up the ceiling again.

Alex and Carter looked up, the ceiling they were once on being replaced by an image of Cole and Tara frozen in place from Shira's point of view.

"The two of you were making an awful lot of noise up there you know," the girl told them, "sister certainly won't like that."

"Sister?" Carter asked, looking back to the girl, "where is your sister?"

The girl's expression changed from one of joy to a much sollem one. "She's… behind there…" the girl pointed to a door just behind Carter that was frozen over with Shira's skull shaped S marking the front of it, "but she hasn't come out to see me in a while… or let me in to see her. I think something might be upsetting her."

"Upset or not, thats where I'm going," Carter told her, turning to face the frozen over door and heading towards it.

"Silly boy," huffed the little girl as she rolled her eyes at him, "she'll be upset if you go in there."

"So what if she is?" Carter muttered, slipping the Ryu-O memory into his driver, "I'm not leaving without her."

The little looked up to the books above her head, "Alright… then before you do, let me show you something." She reached up her hand calling down well over a hundred books and allowing them to circle around her. "Do you know what these books contain?"

Alex and Carter shook their heads.

"Then maybe I should show you," she snapped her fingers as three of them opened. A yellow book open and played a memory of Shiore getting a hit in on Satoshi while sparing, a pink one opening to show her being held by her mother and a blue one opening to show her crying while her father put a bandage over her knee.

Alex and Carter's eyes widened. "Are these…" Carter muttered as he stepped forward, "Shiore's memories?"

The girl nodded, the books closing themselves, "All color coded to the emotion she was experiencing at the time. Blue for sadness, yellow for bliss, pink for comfort and so on."

Carter nodded, looking the girl in the eye once again, "and… what does these memories have to do with whats going on with whats going on with her now?"

"These ones? From a few years ago? Nothing." The girl snapped her fingers, the books cycling until all the books that surrounded the girl were either jet black or blood red.

Alex and Carter gasped as they looked at them all, "How… old are all of these?" Alex asked with a tremor to his voice.

"From three years ago… to today…" the girl told them, a blood red book opening to show Shiore gripping her brother's body surrounded by fire with Spite holding Carter as she flew off. "This one," the girl said as she looked to the memory, "seems to be the start of it all."

"Carter…" Alex muttered as he stared at the memory, "thats you in Spite's arms… isn't it?"

"It is," Carter told him, staring at the image of Shiore holding her brother, "thats one thing that makes sense now…" He balled his hands into fists, "but if she felt like this the whole time… why in the hell didn't she say anything?"

"But she did…" Alex muttered as he looked to Carter, "we were the ones who didn't listen."

"THEN SHE SHOULD HAVE MADE US!" Carter barked, turning to shoot a glare towards Alex only to gasp and take a step back when he saw the face of Alex's Maximum Xtreme form staring him dead in the eye.

Alex reached out his hand and placed it gently on Carter's shoulder. "Wolf girl…" he spoke, "can you bring up any instances you have of Shiore interacting with Carter, the two up there or myself?"

The wolf girl smiled, "Of course," she snapped her fingers.

Four black books moved forward and they opened to show the scenes they contained. Pictured were Shiore handing her cup of coffee to Yuusuke Onodera the day she, Cole and Tara visited Hikari Studio, her extending her own hand to Alex has the pair fell from Ardent Town moments before becoming Zoltan, Shiore working hard on the Biter memory for Cole and finally Shiore following Carter down a long white hall as he marched to face Inertia.

Carter's eyes scanned the new scenes infront of him, "What… what am I looking at here?"

"Shiore… being selfless…" Alex told him, allowing his arm to fall to his side. "As each new threat emerged, Shiore began thinking of her own problems less and less. If I had to guess, its because-"

"She thinks of others.. before herself.." Carter cut in, taking in a sharp gulp.

"Well, whatever the reason," the wolf girl snapped her fingers as all the books closed, "there seems to be no memories that isn't dominated by an emotion of rage or nothing at all."

It was at that moment that Alex noticed a book that was pure white in the corner of his eye. "Not entirely," he pointed to it, then grabbed it in his hands.

Carter looked to the wolf girl and raised a brow, "What emotion does white connect to?"

"Why doesn't your friend open it?" Smirked the wolf girl as she eyed Alex, "I'm sure that if you do, you'll figure it out."

Alex and Carter exchanged a glance with one another then looked down to the book, Alex opening it to reveal an image of Shiore standing under the moonlight on the dock in Carter's embrace.

"Carter…" Alex spoke with his eyes glued to the page, "was this right before she stabbed you?"

Carter held his side then nodded, "almost immediately."

"Then we have our solution," Alex said, closing the book and allowing it to rejoin the others in the air.

"Then tell me," Carter returned, grabbing Alex by the shoulder.

"You know the story of Snowwhite, right?" Alex asked him.

"Word for word," Carter told him.

"Good," Alex patted him on the shoulder and headed to the door marked with Shira's emblem, Carter close behind him."Then just follow my lead."

"So.. the two of you are going then?" the girl called out to them, the two riders both nodded. "I see.. She's lucky. Just be careful, okay?"

"PHOENIX!" roared Carter's driver as he donned his most powerful form before taking hold of the door's handle.

"We will," he told the girl.

Alex looked to the wolf girl, raising a brow, "Before we go, can you tell us your name?"

The wolf girl smiled, walking over to him before extending her hand. "Here, why don't I show you?"

Alex reached out and took her hand. As he did so, the girl lit up in a bright white light before dissolving into snowflakes that formed into the Yuki gaia memory. Alex gasped, tightening his grip around the memory he now held in his hand.

"Alex?" Carter called out the other rider, motioning his eyes to the door, "you ready?"

"As I'll ever be," Alex told him, tucking the memory away as he pushed on the door.

With the strength of the both of them, they were able to push through it. Once on the other side, the door slammed behind them and shattered to bits. With the sharp slamming of the door, the pair of riders looked around to find themselves in the frozen over ruins of Shiore's childhood home. A lunar eclipse hung in the center of a burning sky that filled the air with thick smoke.

"Okay.. this is messed up…" Alex said with a tremor to his voice and stance as his eyes darted around his new surroundings, "but where's-"

"There," Carter said as he pointed up to the roof of the house where, tightly bound by chains to a steel pillar with a pale blue wolf head at the top of it, was a sleeping Shiore with Fury's purple aura swirling around her entire body.

The pair took one step forward only to stop as the rubble around them began to rattle. From the structural remains emerged a countless horde of Shira's dopant form all with the eyes fixed firmly upon the two riders.

"She knows we're here," Carter gritted his teeth as the horde of Shira lunged towards them with their claws in attack position.

Carter fired a barrage of fire blasts at a good portion of them, shattering the hit Shiras in one blow as he and Alex both carved away at more of them as they began to swarm them. The more they took down however, the more that began to emerge from the rubble.

"Ryu-O…" hissed a few of them. "Die…" hissed a few more.

"Alex!" Carter barked as he sliced through a trio of Shiras, "this isn't getting us anywhere!"

Alex stared down the horde that was surrounding them, then eyed a small gap in their formation that lead out to a straight shot towards Shiore on the roof. Sheathing the X-Calibur with the Maximum Defender, Alex shooved Carter through the gap and rushed to fill it before turning to face the horde with Carter directly behind him.

"I'll handle them," Alex told Carter as he redrew his sword, "now go get her."

Carter knelt frozen on the ground for a moment then sharpened his gaze upon Alex and nodded. "Just don't die on me." Without another word, he rose to his feet then kicked off the ground and into the air with Shiore in his sights.

He was almost there then the wolf's head atop the steel pillar moved to stare down carter. It's mouth opened wide and fired off an onslaught of kunai knives at Carter, forcing him to the roof as they struck him in chest and shoulders. Carter only winced however, staring down the wolf's head while ripping the knives from his body.

"You idiot…" Carter choked up, gripping his sword as his gaze drifted down to the sleeping bound Shiore. "You aren't getting rid of me… not yet anyway…"

Back in the ruined courtyard, Alex looked to Carter with a grin under his mask. "Onward… masked knight." His gaze sharpened as he turned back to the horde of Shira behind him, gripping his sword as he marched towards them.

{Start Ending Theme: "Snow Falling" by Kalafina}

Up on the roof, Carter rose to his feet and walked towards the pillar that held Shiore. "You've had a lot taken from you… haven't you, Shiore?" he muttered, dodging the next firing of knives with a simple step to the side as he continued to move forward. "You've been crying all on your own, figuring that no one knew…" He sliced the wolf's head from the pillar the moment he got close to it then pulled his gaia memory from his driver and reverted to his civilian form. "But I do know, now more than ever…" He reached out and cupped her cheek "I love you… Shiore…" he whispered to her before bringing his lips to hers'.

With Carter's single kiss and gentle words, the aura around Shiore shattered as did the horde of Shira dopants that Alex was fighting leaving one behind.

"So, that's the real one?" Alex said, closing his Xtreme memory before opening it once again. "MAXIMUM! XTREME! MAXIMUM DRIVE!" Roared the memory as energy swirled around X-Calibur.

"Your rampage… ends here!" Alex told Shira as he brought down his blade upon her, shattering the image of Shiore's dopant form as the darkness around the sun burst and the fire with it leaving only a clear sky.

From the outside of the Shira dopant, the large wolf charged at Tara and Cole as large cracks began to form throughout it. Just before it landed a single attack on either of the riders it shattered to bits, Alex falling to the ground and reverting to his civilian form. Carter meanwhile gently descended with his lips still locked with Shiore's, the shards of Shira falling gently to the ground as freshly made snowflakes.

"Alex!" Cole cried out, rushing to his friends side as he placed a hand on his shoulder. "Are you alright?"

Alex held Cole's hand, a smile coming to his face, "Yeah…" he muttered weakly as he looked towards Carter and Shiore, "I'm pretty sure everything is going to be just fine."

Tara came up to Alex and Cole, wiping a tear from her eye as she watched her brother and Shiore, "Even with Vainglory on the horizon?" she asked, looking towards the two boys on the ground, "or are we just gonna forget about him entirely?"

An image appeared in the back of Alex's mind of Jason walking away from him at his mother's gave when he was only a child. "Remember this Alex…" Jason's words echoed in his mind, "it's your fault that she's gone."

"Tara…" Alex sharply gulped, his eyes returning to Shiore and Carter. "Just.. give them a moment, okay?"

Carter took the necklace he had bought for Shiore and tied it around her neck before placing a single kiss on her forehead. "Please Shiore.. Rest for now…"

{End of Ending Theme}

Within Vainglory's lair, Jason starred in his human form at the mural on the wall of the moon hanging between the sun and the earth then eyed a clock that currently read thirty minutes after midnight.

"It's only hours away now Alice…" Jason muttered to him as his hand caressed the mural, "my perfect world.. Will soon be mine.."

At that moment, the doors at the front cracked open as Spite flew in. Landing on the floor, she reverted to her human form and, now Rylee, stepped towards Jason and bowed before him.

"Forgive my absence my lord," she pleaded humbly, "I am at your side once again."

Jason stared at her, raising a brow, "You were absent? When?"

Rylee looked up to him, dumbfounded, "You.. didn't realize I was gone?"

"Does it matter if I did?" he asked her, walking towards her and taking her by the wrist. "What matters is that you are here now.. Doesn't it?" He forced her to her feet. Rylee did not answer, instead just staring in Jason's blank eyes. "Spite?" Jason glared at her, "you are not thinking of betraying me, the way that the others did.. Are you?"

Rylee shook her head, "No.. of course not.. My lord…"

"Good.. because I would hate too…" Jason cupped her cheek, then stared at her for a moment becoming lost in Rylee's eyes. "Have I ever mentioned.. How much you look like Alice?"

"We're twins.. My lord.." Rylee muttered, her skin crawling at Jason's touch. "It would only make sense that-"

Before Rylee could let another word exit her mouth, she found that it was filled by Jason's worm like tongue that slithered around her own causing her entire body to tremble. Holding her firmly for a good moment or two, who then released her and stepped away from her once he was threw with her.

"That would could be used as a replacement.. Until I have the real thing in my grasp once again," Jason told her, his gaze becoming locked once again on the mural in front of him. "Speaking of.. I have one final task for you, Spite."

Rylee simply stared at him from the ground, finding herself unable to move even a muscle, "That being… my lord?"

"VAINGLORY!" roared Jason's gaia memory as he changed into his dopant form.

"Summon my darling Alice's mistake," Vainglory snarled, "the one that cost her her first life."

**Next time on Kamen Rider Ultimate Xtreme **

The final battle is upon the riders, with the power to reshape the world within Jason's grasp.

After everything they've been through, will the riders have what it takes to defeat the shadow that's been looming over them from the start?

All will be decided when Kamen Rider Xtreme Act Five Continues in:

**Episode 45: Vainglory's Perfect World**

_All riders, this is the hour._


	12. Episode 45: Vainglory's Perfect World

**Episode 45: Vainglory's Perfect World**

As snow fell down onto the sleeping city, Rylee stared out a large window at the top of a tall skyscraper. After a moment, she glanced down to her phone that read twelve thirty three in the morning. Punching in a string of ten numbers, she raised the phone to her ear as it rung.

After a few rings, it was picked up. "Hello?" A voice answered.

"Sampson?" Rylee asked, "I have a favor."

"Rylee…" Samspon spoke then sighed, "you have alot of nerve, calling me at a time like this."

"I know.." she hung her head, "but listen.. I just want to talk, for a moment."

"You wouldn't rather talk to that boss of yours?" Sampson said as a jab.

"Alice-" she spoke suddenly, changing the subject, "did you, did being with you make her happy?"

Sampson fell silent for a moment then he spoke, "Honestly, I can't say. She was always-"

"An enigma?" Rylee cut him off, finishing his sentence.

"Rylee…" Sampson let out a heavy breath, "why are you asking me this?"

"Because… I just want to know what its like…" Rylee muttered as a tear began to form in her eye, "to be happy."

"I see…" Sampson spoke softly, "then just do it."

Rylee paused, raising a brow at her phone, "do what?"

"Whatever you need to make yourself happy," Sampson told her, "it still isn't too late."

"Don't be absurd," Rylee snarled at him, "I'm the widower to a man who never loved me, and both my children hate me. Where is there to go for me?"

Another pause came from Sampson, "That's… for you to decide," he spoke, his voice shifting to Alice's the moment they entered Rylee's ear. "Where you go from here, it all depends on how you answer this next question.. what do you want to have happen?"

Rylee sharply swallowed, looking out to the snow-covered city as tears began to roll down her cheeks. "Make sure the riders arrive 686 Judace Drive within the next hour, the conference room on the top floor," she instructed him, "do that.. and you'll have your answer."

"Rylee, what are you-" before Sampson could say another word more, Rylee hung up the phone. She wiped her eyes then looked back out to the frozen city outside. She stared at her reflection, the image in the class shifting to that of her sister.

"Alice, if you were in my position…" Rylee muttered, "what would you do?"

{Insert opening theme: "Extreme Dream" by Labor Day}

Out in the dimly lit hospital hallway, Alex sat alone on a bench staring at the Xtreme memory he held in his hands. His heart swelled inside his chest as he felt his mind get pulled back to one day in his childhood.

In a flash of white light, a six year old Alex was pulled by his wrist from a car and towards a house that was the present Alex's apartment building.

"Dad! Wait!" Alex cried out to an older man who carried a large bag as he dragged the child along. "I want to go home! What are you doing?!"

"I'm taking you there," the older man said with his eyes fixed on the door, dropping Alex and the bag he held on the front step before shoving a set of keys into the boy's hand. "Do whatever you wish, but this is your home now."

He went to leave, only for Alex to reach out and grab him by the sleeve. "Father! Please! When is mom coming home?! Tell me!" pleaded the child as tears rolled down his face.

Jason didn't face Alex. Instead, he balled up his fist then struck the boy across his face, forcing him to the ground.

"Your mother...is dead," he snarled, shooting an angry, soul piercing glare into the boy's eyes. "And its all because of you… as the mistake she should never have made."

Alex held his now bleeding face, his lower lip and entire body trembling with fear. "Dad…" ye sobbed, "what are you-"

"Shut your mouth," Jason snapped at him, turning to leave. "I'm not your father… I have no son."

"Alex?" A soft voice called out to him, snapping him back to the present. He jumped, looking over to the bench beside him to find Madison with one hand on his shoulder and the other on one of his hands. "Are you.. okay?"

Alex swallowed, then nodded as he leaned into Madison a bit, holding her hand as he let out a heavy breath. "How's Shiore?"

"Still sleeping," Madison told her as she kissed Alex on the cheek, "but she's stable.. Doctor Pepper says that when she wakes up, it will all seem like a bad dream. We should count ourselves lucky Sampson has such good connections."

Alex nodded then managed a grin, "If only all our problems were solved so easily." He hung his head, "Something like this… shouldn't have been left to a mistake like me."

"Hey now, where's this coming from?" Madison asked as she pulled him closer towards her, patting his head with a gentle stroke of her hand.

"Cause I know its true…" Alex muttered, "I'm not my mother… and I'm the reason she isn't here right now…" he sharply swallowed, "I'm the reason that a lot of bad things happened."

"If you don't cut out the crap, I'm gonna smack you boy," called the firm yet warm voice of an older man. Madison and Alex both looked forward to see Sampson standing in front of them. "Ms Tyler?" He raised a brow at Madison, "may I?"

Madison simply nodded, getting up from the bench and picking up her pink handbag before moving off to the side. The moment she stood up and left the bench, Sampson sat down in Madison's spot and wrapped an arm around Alex, pulling him in close.

"Those words in your head…" Sampson spoke as he gripped onto Alex's shoulder, "Jason put them in there, didn't he?" He looked at his son, the boy remaining silent as he stared at the Xtreme memory in his hand. "Thought so.." Sampson let out a sigh.

"Dad… why did mom leave this and the X-Driver to me?" Alex asked suddenly, "surely, there must have been someone better that she could've trusted it with.. right?"

"Alex…a lot of what she did didn't make a whole lot of sense," Sampson told the boy, "but just about all that she did worked out in the end. I'm sure that giving the driver and all its memories to you is no different."

Alex looked Sampson in the eye, "How do you know?"

"Alice.. she saw things," Sampson told him. "It was never anything concerning her, but she told me about visions she had. All sorts of possibilities, some good, many others bad." He cupped Alex's cheek and raised a brow. "Do you think for a moment, that she would have left something so important to you if wasn't certain that you, above anyone else, were the best person to have it?"

Alex's lip quivered, then he nodded. "But I… I've made so many mistakes!"

"So did Alice," Sampson told him with a stern glance, looking him dead in the eye. "But remember this," he cupped his son cheek, "you are not one of them."

"I… I know…" he admitted, hanging his head down as he gripped the Xtreme memory, "but I, I still wish I could go back and stop all of this from happening…"

"So do all who live to see such times, but it is not for them to decide.." Madison spoke from where she stood with her eyes closed and back to the opposite wall. Alex and Sampson shifted their gaze towards her as she continued to speak. "All we have to decide isdecide is what to do with that time that is given to us."

Sampson managed a grin as he raises a brow at her, "Let me guess, power rangers?"

Madison opened her eyes and grinned nervously. "Lord of the Rings… Actually," she said with a blush, "sorry, I thought it was appropriate."

"Well, as always Ms Tyler," Sampson chuckled a bit, "I'm glad your spirit is in the right place."

Suddenly, Alex shot to his feet, "And so is mine." He declared as he clenched the Xtreme memory in his hand.

"Okay boy, what's gotten into your head this time?" Sampson asked.

"I'm going to face Vainglory," Alex said with a confident tone to his voice, "I know how to beat him."

"Great!" Madison cheered, then paused, "but… do we even know where he is?"

"686 Judace Drive, he should be in a conference room on the top floor," Sampson told them, getting a look from both Alex and Madison. "A reliable source told me."

"Good enough for me," Alex said as he stepped towards Madison.

"Alex, what if its a trap?" Madison asked moments before Alex put his lips to hers.

Wrapping his arms around her, he held her in his embrace for a good moment as she returned the kiss and wrapped her own arms around him.

"Then I'll spring it," he said as he held her with both his hands before whispering something into her ear.

Whatever it was, it made Madison gasp for a moment. With a shaken gaze, she looked into Alex's eyes that were more certain than she had ever seen them. This caused her own haze to sharpen.

"Right, I will," she nodded, gripping her hand bag as she zipped it tight.

"Thank you Madison," Alex said as he kissed her on the forehead, "I love you."

Madison smiled at him, sinking into his embrace, "I love you too."

Without another word more, Alex with his fists closed tight turned on his heel took off down the hall.

"Alex! Wait!" Sampson called out, rising to his feet only for Alex to be gone before he could say another word. "Stubborn boy," he shook his head, "guess we're gonna need the others to go after him."

"Not yet," Madison spoke, raising her open hand in front of Sampson, "they're still resting."

Sampson stared at her puzzled, about to speak when a voice called out from over his shoulder. "Excuse me, might this be where I can find Lady Fubuki?"

Within Vainglory's lair, Jason sat on his throne staring at a clock that was ticking away with his eyes locked upon the number three that the hour hand was only an hour away from. With a huff, he glared at Rylee who knelt before him.

"Spite…" he snarled, gripping the arm of his throne, "did you send the message?"

"I did… my lord…" Rylee told him, "they should be here within the hour."

"Good," he closed his eyes and leaned back into his throne, "then go out to greet them.. And make sure that my wife's mistake goes untouched. Is that clear?"

"Of course… my lord…" Rylee spoke once again.

"Then… leave me…" Jason let out a heavy sigh, "you are not to enter this room again, not until the gate is opened."

"As you wish…" Rylee said as she got up and left the shroud of Vainglory's lair and into the light of the dimly lit hallway, shutting the door behind her. She balled her hand into a fist and with a glare to the door behind her muttered under her breath, "... you bastard…"

Inside the hospital room, Shiore lay asleep on a bed with Carter sitting by her bedside with his eyes locked on her. Her sweater had been removed so her arm could be bandaged leaving her laying there in only her thigh high purple socks, black shorts and long sleeved shirt. Due to the prior conflict however, one of her striped sleeves had been torn up same as the sweater which Tara held as she stood off to the side with Cole, the pair with their eyes on Carter and Shiore.

With a quiet step, Tara approached her brother then whispered to him. "Hey, big brother?" Carter jumped, looking at his sister with a raised brow. "Maybe if you held her hand," she spoke softly, "you'll be the first thing she'll see when she wakes up?"

Carter looked at his sister, "You think that will work?*

"You and Superstar dove into the belly of the beast and came out safe with the princess," she smiled at him, patting him on the shoulder, "so it wouldn't be the strangest miracle love made happen tonight."

Carter turned his gaze back to Shiore, his eyes drifting down to the girl's hand. With a breath, he reached out his own hand to grasp it. However, the moment he so lightly touched the top of her hand, Shiore let out a gasp. Only a second later, her eyes slowly but surely opened now free of corruption and shining like a pair of pale blue sapphires.

Carter and Tara fell silent as the ice rider's gaze fell upon them. 'Ryu… Carter?" She muttered.

Tara covered her mouth, then leaned into her brother's ear, "She… she said your name…" she told him. Carter glanced at her, raising a brow. "Right… backing away now…" she muttered as she tiptoed away and back to Cole. With a grin, she shot a thumbs up at her brother.

Carter couldn't help but grin a bit at this, shaking his head as he looked back to Shiore who was staring right at him. "So.. how are you feeling?"

"What you said… when the two of you were in my head…" Shiore cut to the chase, "was that true?"

Carter's gaze sharpened upon Shiore, "You.. remember all that?"

Shiore held up her Yuki memory, "I was told… every word…" she told him, "so, how much of it was true?"

Carter exhaled, taking hold of her hand, "Every last one." He told her. "I might not have been in control of my actions, but even so… what I did is unforgivable." He took hold of her other hand with his remaining free one as he leaned in closer. "That being said, I'm gonna do all that I can to make it right with you. So from this point on, just say the word and I shall see it done now matter what it is."

"Oh?" Shiore raised a brow, "are you sure about that?"

Carter nodded, "You have something in mind already, don't?" Shiore nodded back. "Then say it," Carter requested.

Shiore looked deep into Carter's eyes, feeling her heart go into a flurry at the thought of what she was about to say. "Marry me, Carter Damon."

Cole's eyes shot open, Tara meanwhile letting out an ear shattering scream as she jumped up and down. Cole, Carter and Shiore all stared at her, Tara noticing this as she covered her mouth with her hands.

"Sorry," she blushed.

"It's alright," Shiore laughed, then smiled at her, "I'd be excited to.. if I were in your position." Cole and even Tara now stared at Shiore as she looked at Carter. "So, how about it then?" Carter just stared at her alongside Cole and Tara. Shiore blinked, a blush coming to her face, "What?.. Do I have something on my face?" She glared at Tara, "Your sister didn't scribble on my face or something while I was sleeping did see?"

"No, nothing like that," Carter said as he used his hand to guide Shiore eye back to him. "It's just… I've never seen you smile, or heard you laugh before."

Her glare sharpened up Carter, her blush returning a bit, "That's not going to be a problem, is it?"

"So long as you make sure to do it every day that I'm with you…" he said as he cupped her cheek, "it won't be."

"Then does this mean…" Shiore whispered as she gazed into Carter's eyes, "you take me as your bride?"

Carter nodded, "I do," he told her before kissing her on the lips.

Tara sniffled, leaning into Cole who wrapped his arm around her.

"Oh…" an old voice called out, "I hope I'm not interrupting something."

Carter and Shiore looked to the door of the room to see and elder japanese man staring back at them with a smile on his face and Madison and Sampson behind him.

"Tanaka…" Shiore muttered with a blink, "what are you doing here?"

"I received a phone call telling me you were hurt Lady Fubuki," he said as he came up and hugged her, "what else was I supposed to do?"

"Sorry.." she said as she hugged him back, "I.. didn't mean to worry you."

"Don't be foolish," Tanaka kissed her on the forehead, "it's my job to worry about you. If I didn't, your mother would never forgive me."

"This is all sweet and all but…" Tara spoke up, raising a hand, "who the heck are you?"

"Oh, do forgive me," Tanaka laughed a bit, turning to face the girl, "I am Tanaka F-" he paused, looking to Shiore.

"Its okay Tanaka…" Shiore assure him, "they should know."

"Tanaka Fubuki," he told them, "I am a servant of the Shirayuki family…" he placed a hand on Shiore's shoulder, "and I've been looking after Ms Shirayuki since her family.. passed on."

Carter and Shiore exchanged a glance with one another. Madison simply swallowed, giving an empathetic look towards Shiore as she clutched her hand bag and sat down.

"Wait a minute! Your last name is Shirayuki?!" Tara cut in, pointing a finger at Shiore, "I thought you said the last of the Shirayuki clan had been killed! What gives?!"

Shiore hung her head, avoiding Tara's gaze as Tanaka let out a sigh, "It was necessary to hide who she was, solely for her protection."

"Then why was her real name on her file at the station?" Carter asked, getting a look from Shiore.

"Once your police showed they could be trusted, we gave them the information," Tanaka said as he motioned towards Sampson. He then looked Carter in the eye before poking him in the chest, "A better question though, is what you were doing snooping around in said file. Hmm?"

"I can explain that one," Sampson said, raising one hand and placing the other on Carter's shoulder. "It was my own test to see where his loyalties were. Had he tried to contact META in anyway, we would have detained him."

"META?" Tanaka looked at Sampson the turned to Carter, "So… you're the boy who-"

"Yes…" Carter told him, staring him dead in the eye. "I wasn't in control of my actions, but I still did it." He bowed to Tanaka, "I have already made plans with Shiore to pay back my dept."

Tanaka looked to Shiore, "is this true?"

Shiore nodded, "He promised himself to me."

Tanaka's eyes widened, "He did?" He asked as he looked to Carter. "Boy, do you realize what you have agreed to? A head mistress of the Shirayuki clan is not an easy woman to please."

"I know, and I'll do whatever it takes," Carter said as he rose back up to look Tanaka in the eye. "I love her Mr Fubuki, more than anything."

A whistle came from the door, "Damn Shiore, and here I thought I was the only lucky girl tonight." The group looked to the door to find Ashley leaning by the door with her thumb up to the ice rider. "Though next time, can you not go full monster mode on him before reeling in the big fish? Seriously, I'm starting to feel like I can't leave you alone for five minutes without the doors to hell opening up."

"Where would the fun be if I didn't?" Shiore said with a grin as she looked at Carter, making a small biting motion with her mouth.

Carter glanced at her, "Behave."

"You like it," Shiore shot back him.

"By the way Juicy Butt," Tara with a grin on her face and a twitch in her eye as she grabbed Ashley by the collar of her shirt, "what's this I hear about a new girlfriend of yours? And when do we get to meet her?!"

"I just met her! I think it's too early to call her my girlfriend!" Ashley blushed. She gulped, "Besides…" she looked over to Sampson with a gulp, "she's like, twenty-one… so I'm not even sure if its legal."

Sampson looked at her, "You're over eighteen, right?"

"On the dot actually," she grinned nervously, "just turned a few weeks ago.."

"Then you're good," Sampson smiled at her, "heck, Alice has a whole ten years on me so I'd just be a hypocrite if I made a stink about a measly six."

Ashley let out a sharp breath of relief, "Oh thank god!"

"So yeah! When do we get to meet her!" Tara continued to pry, shaking Ashley around a bit by her collar.

Ashley grabbed Tara's wrist and spoke only after she had stopped the room from spinning. "Once I figure out what to do with my whole Rider situation.. still unsure if I should tell her or not.. Also!" she then pointed to Madison with the other, "Once I'm sure she's not gonna fall for this one over her."

"Hey!" Madison playfully whacked Ashley on the shoulder, "Alex and I are an item now in case you forgot."

"Speaking of Alex," Cole spoke up, looking at Madison and Sampson, "where is he?"

The room fell silent, all eyes turning to Madison and Sampson as they exchanged a glance with one another. Madison tightened her grip around her pink handbag.

"Hehe…" Madison managed a nervous laugh, "funny thing that…"

{End of Part A}

{Start of Part B}

Alex road the X-Cyclone along a snow-covered street until he came to a tall building with the numbers six eight-six on the front step. Riding up to the curb, he placed his feet on the ground before shutting off the engine of his bike and removing his helmet. Taking in a deep breath, he looked up to the top of the tall building he stood in front of before breathing out and climbing off the bike.

The street was quiet, so quiet that all Alex could hear over the wind was the crunching of snow beneath his feet as he marched up to the door and into the building. As he entered the open, dimly lit lobby he paused when he found it was empty with the only light source being over top a pair of elevators that sat at the back of the lobby, calling to him.

With another quick breath in and out, Alex marched to the elevator and hit the button to call one of them. Hearing a slight ding from the top of the elevator, he watched as a green light went across the top with each ding. The dings stopped once the light hit the spot marked for the ground floor, the elevator opening shortly after.

Alex stared into the elevator, gasping as he looked into it. On the back of the elevator was a painting depicting an angel that resembled his mother descending down from the heavens with a smile on her face and an open hand extended towards Alex.

Alex hung his head, moments later he went into the elevator and hit the button for the top floor. Pressing his back to the painted wall as the doors closed. As the dings went on, he placed his hand into the open palm onto the painting.

"Mom…" he muttered with a choke to his voice, "I'm not sure if you can hear me where you are.. But I don't really have anyone else to talk to…" he sharply swallowed. "My life sucked, and I don't really know if I did anything worth a damn to help anybody… but I know the man you married isn't going to be doing any favors for anyone either.. In fact.. He's likely to make things a whole lot worse.."

He raised his head, looking to the mirror door of the elevator itself where he could look at the painting in the eye. "Well, saying my life sucked is a bit of a lie…" he admitted, "sure, there were a lot of bad things.. But there were some good things because of it." He managed a slight grin, "If I wasn't abandoned on that doorstep, I would've have met Cole.. if you didn't go out the way you did, I never would have met my real father…" he balled his hand into a fist, "if it wasn't for META existing. Tara, Carter or Shiore. Magika, Decade, Vega.. or any of their friends.." he shook his head, "I wouldn't have met any of them, and I don't think I'd be willing to trade that for anything." He choked up as tears began to form in his eyes, "not even to talk to you, right here and now."

He allowed himself to breath, "Mom… I guess what I'm trying to say is that.." wiping his eyes as the elevator drew closer to the top floor, "Whatever happens tonight.. I'm glad my life turned out how it did," he continued, "and I wouldn't have it if it wasn't for you…" with one final ding, the elevator reached the top floor. "So thank you.. Mom.." he said as he stepped out into a dimly lit tile covered hallway, the door closing shortly after, "for putting your trust in me, when I couldn't."

Alex walked down the hall until he came face to face with Rylee who stared at him from where he stood in front of a pair of large doors.

"You actually showed?" she asked him, cocking her brow.

"He wanted to see me, right?" Alex answered her question with one of his own, looking up to the door behind Rylee. "He's just in there, isn't he?"

Rylee nodded. "You seem confident…" she noted, "I could have killed you the night you got that belt. You realize that, right?"

"Of course I do, but you didn't," Alex said, keeping his eyes fixed on the door. "You could've killed me at many steps on my journey to this very moment, but you didn't. Thing is, I finally know why."

Rylee looked at him, "Do you?"

Alex nodded, "Vainglory will never admit it, but he needs me more than ever to open that stupid gate." He dug into his pocket and pulled out the star and runner memories, striking their activation buttons.

"STAR! RUNNER!" cried the memories as the X-Driver formed around his waist.

"Because of this," Alex said as he placed a hand on his driver, "this device my mother had bound to me… I'm the only one who can use it, aren't I?"

"My sister.. She always got what she wanted.." Rylee told him, "and what she wanted, was for you to have the fate of the world on your shoulders." She turned away from Alex and looked out the window, "What will you do, knowing that?"

"I've already decided," Alex told her, pushing on the door as he went inside the dark room behind it.

The doors slammed behind Rylee, the woman looking over her shoulder as she looked to the door. "Good luck to you… Kamen Rider Xtreme…" She pulled out a radio and raised it to her lips. "This is Spite," she spoke into it, "shut off all elevators, deploy all remaining forces to all main stair wells. Vainglory's orders."

Inside Vainglory's lair, Jason sat with his chin rest on his fist and his free arm resting on the arm of his throne. Tapping his fingers on the arm of his throne, he stared at the doorway with a heavy glare as Alex marched towards him.

"So.. you've finally arrived," Jason spoke with a beastly snarl to his voice, "and those friends of yours.. Where are they?"

"They'll be along shortly," Alex told Jason meeting his glare with one of his own, "Don't you worry… Father."

Jason gritted his teeth, "I thought I told you," he rose to his feet, "I am not your father, you are not my son."

"I know all that," Alex told him, standing still despite Jason's change in posture. "I know you aren't my father, that honor belongs to Sampson." Jason sucked his teeth, glaring harsher at the boy, "but that's not all I know."

Jason blinked, the man laughing at the boy in front of him, "Oh? And what else do you know?"

"I know you can't kill me, because I know about the gate I possess," Alex maintained his glare upon Jason, "and I know exactly what you plan to do with it. So, I'm going to stop you."

Jason laughed some more, spitting on the ground as he balled his hand into a fist, "and what makes you, above all people on this earth-" he narrowed his gaze upon Alex, "so certain of that?"

"Because you aren't going to be the one opening that gate tonight," Alex stepped forward, bringing out the Star and Runner memories, "I am." He slammed the memories into his driver, then cried out, "HENSHIN!"

"STAR! RUNNER!" cried the memories as his black and red base armor formed around him.

"We shall see about that," Jason brought out his own dopant driver and memory, slapping the driver onto his waist and bringing the memory to his driver.

"VAINGLORY!" roared his memory in a demonic voice as he donned the black and violet armor and cloak of his dopant form.

Back in Shiore's hospital room, Tara slammed Madison into the wall and held her by the collar of her shirt.

"WHAT?!" Tara screamed at the top of her lungs, "YOU JUST LET HIM GO! JUST LIKE THAT?! YOU WEREN'T EVEN GONNA SAY ANYTHING?!"

Madison shoved Tara off her, grabbing the girl by her wrists, "He told me not too! Not right away."

"And if Superstar jumped off a cliff, and told you not to help him, you'd just let him jump?!" Tara continued to bark at her.

"Since I trust he has a way to land, I would." Madison said firmly, looking Tara in the eye with a steady gaze, "and if you know Alex as well as I think you do, you should too."

Tara stood their, stunned speechless by what she just said.

The others stared at Madison in silence as well, save for Shiore who only glanced at her then looked at herself in the mirror.

"Tanaka…" she held her hand out to him.

Tanaka nodded, handing her a pale blue hair ribbon. Shiore rose to her feet, taking the ribbon from Tanaka before using it to tie her hair.

"Ponytail," Ashley grinned at her, "looks good on you."

The moment Ashley made her comment, Shiore pulled out a single kunai knife, using it to cut off the torn sleeve of her shirt along with the other to match. As the sleeves dropped from her arms to the floor, she grabbed her ponytail with one hand and cut it off with the other.

The room, save for Tanaka, gasped. Shiore then handed her chopped off hair to Tanaka then turned on her heel and marched broad shouldered to the door.

"Lets go," Shiore ordered the group as she strutted over to the door leading out to the hospital hallway. "Alex needs us."

"Hang on there sister, you're not going anywhere dressed like that!" Madison declared stepping between Shiore and the door, "it's freezing out there!"

Shiore glanced towards the torn the sweater held by Tara, "Well I won't wear that."

"That's why I'm glad Alex and I picked this out for you," Madison said with a grin as she reached into her bag, be sure to keep its contents hidden as she pulled out a long white box. "I know its not wrapped, but happy birthday."

Shiore eyed the box, taking it from Madison as she opened it. Her eyes widened as she stared at the white hoodie covered in a pale blue snowflake pattern.

"Its nice," she smiled slightly, slipping it over her as she continued out the door, "thank you."

Once Shiore was gone, he eyed the older man beside him, "Tanaka.. what did she just cut her hair like that for?"

"It's a symbol of cutting all ties and regrets from oneself," Tanaka told him. "Lady Shiore by cutting her hair, has the intention of entering this fight with nothing weighing her down."

Carter narrowed his gaze at him, "But why?"

"Because… whoever this foe of yours is..." Tanaka sharply swallowed as he gripped the hair of Shiore in his hands, "she is prepared to lose her life in the fight against them."

"And you aren't going to stop her!" Carter snapped at him.

Tanaka shook his head at him, "Though I may not like her choice, I must respect that it is hers to make."

"I see…" Carter gritted his teeth and balled his hands into fists. Her turned on his heel and marched out the door. "Then I'm going with her."

"Not without me you're not!" Tara called to her brother as she chased after him, "Superstar and you two aren't gonna die without me!"

Cole managed a grin at his girlfriend, his heart however feeling unsteady as he looked to Ashley, "You coming Ash?"

"With the likelihood of a bloodbath as high as it is?" She asked with a raided brow, smirking a moment later, "what the fuck are we waiting for?"

Moments later, all the riders stood outside the hospital, their feet in the snow and Kree on Tara's shoulder. The Rock Prowler and All Terrain Shifter sat on the curb, a clear spot between the both of them where the X-Cyclone once was.

"So.." Ashley blinked at the empty gap between her and Cole's rides before looking to the other riders, "where the fuck are we going?"

"686 Judace Drive," Sampson as he and Madison came out the front door.

Tara snapped a finger, pointing to Sampson, "What he said."

"We shouldn't waste any time then," Cole said, he and the other riders pulling out their gaia memories.

"Just for the record, they're most likely waiting for us," Carter told them.

"Then we'll ride out to meet them," Shiore looked Carter in the eye, "right?"

"Right," Tara, Cole, Carter and Ashley nodded in unison. The group stepped forward into a line, Ashley looking down.

"So what's the plan?" She asked the group, "Storm the castle, slay the dragon and rescue the princess?"

Shiore looked to her and nodded, "whatever it takes."

They raised their gaia memories, striking their respective activation buttons. "GALE! ROCK! YUKI! RYU-O! SHIFT!" Cried their memories, their belts forming around their waist with Kree shifting into his driver form and latching onto Tara's wrist. Each rider slammed their memories into their drivers then switched them on, "GALE! ROCK! YUKI! RYU-O! SHIFT!" roared each memory, each rider donning their armor in a burst of their respective element.

Back in Vainglory's lair, the cloaked shadow dopant hurled violet energy spike after violet energy spike at Alex who, still in Star Runner form, darted from one corner of the room to another in order to evade the spikes before ducking behind a stone pillar for cover.

Alex panted as he closed his driver, gripping the device he wore with one hand and the pillar who stood behind with the other. He pulled the star memory from his driver and took in a deep breath.

"I grow tired of your games boy…" Vainglory huffed, stepping down from his throne and onto the floor beneath it. "Simply surrender," he ordered as he stepped towards the pillar Alex was using for cove, "allow me to open the gate within you.. and I will ensure that your death is a painless one." He stopped just short of the pillar, a serrated shadow blade forming in his hand, "a courtesy I did not extent to your mother."

"BLADE! RUNNER!" roared Alex's driver, the boy leaping out from the pillar sword in hand as he swung at Vainglory, his top armor shifting from red to green.

With one quick motion, Vainglory parried Alex's blade with his own. He stared him down, Alex striking away at him as Vainglory easily parried. He glanced up at the clock, his gaze sharpening as he let out a snarl.

"You're… beginning to tire me," he said upon parrying one final time, grabbing Alex by the throat and kneeing him in the gut.

"OOF!" Winced Alex as Vainglory dropped him to the floor.

"I'll say this only once," Vainglory snarled as he aimed his blade at the boy, "ascend to your Maximum and open the gate, or die."

Alex panted, "Alright…" he said as he closed his driver, "I will…"

"Good…" Vainglory lowered his sword, "then be quick about it."

Alex glanced at the clock which read one fifty nine. With a deep breath in, he placed both his hands on his two memories and gripping them as though he planned to remove them. At the last possible second however, he only removed his Blade memory and replaced it with another before splitting it open again.

"BLAST! RUNNER!" roared his driver, his Corona Blaster forming in his hand as his chest armor shifted from green to blue. Shooting to his feet, he fired away at Vainglory and knocked him back a few feet.

As Vainglory was hit by the blast, he cast away his sword and conjuring a whip. Gripping it tight in his hand, he shot a glare at Alex.

"YOU DISGUSTING LITTLE INSECT!" Roared vainglory as he lashed away repeatedly at Alex, "YOU'RE NOTHING! ALL THAT YOU ARE! IT CAME FROM HER! THE WOMAN YOU DESTROYED BY EXISTING! THE FACT YOU EVEN LOOK LIKE HER IS ENOUGH TO DAMN YOU TO HELL!"

Vainglory continued to lash away at Alex with his whip until Alex caught the whip with his hand. "You're wrong… I'm not nothing..." he panted, climbing back to his feet, "I have my friends.." He raised his head and stared down Vainglory, "what do you have?"

"I have Alice!" Vainglory told him, "so long as I have her, nothing else matters!"

"But you threw her away! And for what?!" Alex demanded, "Some gate? Power? If you weren't lusting after something so stupid, you might have actually been my father!"

"ENOUGH!" Roared Vainglory as he ripped his whip from Alex's hand, causing the boy to stumble forward, "Your mother was the one who betrayed me! And now... Now my memories of her, and the dream she and I shared together.." the whip dissolved and a huge ball of sparking black energy began to form in Vainglory's flared hand. "Its all I have left…" he stared down Alex and raised his hand to him as the energy ball continued to charge, "and I refuse to allow a mistake like you to storm in here and take it from me because you believe you have power!" He declared, firing off the energy ball at Alex.

With a gasp, Alex quickly closed his driver, replaced the Runner memory then reset it, "BLAST! KICKER!"

High above the sky, Carter flew through the air with Shiore on his back. His eyes were fixed on a tall building in the distance that he was quickly approaching. His heart was pounding in his chest until he heard a melody echo from behind him. Looking over his shoulder, he saw Shiore holding the necklace he had bought her and listening to its tune.

"That song…" Carter asked, "what is it?"

"In english its called 'Snow Falling'... My mother used to sing it to me when I was nervous or sad… or whenever I asked her too" she told him, looking up to him, "where did you find this?"

"At a store downtown.. I just," he gulped, "the song reminded me of you."

Shiore's heart skipped a beat, he eyes drifting down to the necklace in her hands. "You don't find it cold or unsettling?" She asked him.

"I do… but its also comforting, and assuring. Like a warm blanket on a harsh winter day," he told her, looking back to the building in his sights. "Both those reasons, are what make it beautiful."

Shiore blushed under her mask, tucking the necklace away as she gripping Carter's back with her hands and thighs. "We're there," she told him, pointing down as they soared over the building.

Carter landed right in front of the other riders.

"Are you all ready?" Shiore asked as she climbed off of Carter's back.

The riders looked out to the street as several police cars, SWAT vans and ambulances arrived on the scene. Single squad car drove right up to the curb, Madison hopping out of the passenger side door with Sampson stepping out of the driver side door moments later.

"The building is secure on all sides," Madison told the riders as she and Sampson came up to them. She gave them a thumbs up as she caught her breath, "you're all clear guys."

The riders nodded to Madison, looked back to Shiore and Carter ready for orders.

Shiore faced the door, "Then let's get this started."

"Wait a sec, why are we in such a hurry?" Tara asked suddenly, looking to the other riders, "shouldn't Alex already be in his United Maximum whatever form? There's no way Vainglory could stand up against that, even if the Xtreme Memory is that gate thing he's after."

"Well… actually…" Madison muttered, shrinking her head in a little as all eyes turned towards her.

"Madison…" Cole took a step towards her, "what's going on?"

Madison gulped, reaching into her bag as the words Alex has whispered to her earlier echoed in her head, "Hold on to these for me, until the others are by my side." She sharply swallowed, hanging her head as she pulled out the Xtreme and Maximum memories from her bag.

The riders stared in shock, Ashley blinking a bit as a few choice words escaped her lips, "That… fucking… DUMBASS!"

"Calm it Juicy Butt!" Tara pointed a finger at Ashley, "Superstar will just call them should he need them. I mean the Maximum memory can't fly, so he probably gave the two of them to Maddy so she can put them together as the Xtreme memory flies off to him," she looked to Madison, "right?"

"As clever as that might be…" Madison spoke up, slipping the memories back into her bag, "he told me to hold onto them, until you guys are by his side."

Tara stared at Madison, blinking after a moment, "Oh my god… he's a genius."

Ash stared at Tara, "How exactly?!"

"Think about it," Tara looked back to Ashley, "Vainglory is probably banking on Alex rushing in at max power. So, if Alex comes in without his best weapon on his person, that would be the last thing the bastard would expect!"

"Yeah, he's a genius," Ash huffed, putting her hands on her hips, "maybe Vainglory will commend him as he's ripping Alex to pieces!"

"Shut it, both of you," Shiore spoke over them, her eyes fixed on the door as all other eyes became fixed upon her. "Alex leaving the memories to Madison only adds another task we must complete."

Ashley gulped, "You aren't worried?"

"On the surface, what Alex has done might seem foolish, but I've known him long enough to see that he has something up his sleeve," she took a step towards the door, the door opening as a result. "Now let's get going."

With one unified nod, the remaining riders and Madison followed in behind Shiore.

The group entered the building and stepped into the lobby, only to be greeted by the loud cocking of guns. The room was loaded to the teeth with X2 Troopers, Blast troopers lining both sides with Blade troopers on the back of the room.

"End of the road Riders!" Declared a single Star Trooper as they stepped out from behind the blade troopers. "We outnumber you thirty to one!"

Shiore simply smirked under her mask as she gripped the hilt of her sword, "Then its an even fight." She drew her sword, "Riders! Cut them down!"

{Insert Ending Theme: "Mask" by Aqua Timez}

**Next time on Kamen Rider Ultimate Xtreme:**

One hour remains until the eclipse, and the riders race to Alex's side!

Can his friends reach him in time?

All will be decided when Kamen Rider Xtreme Act Five continues in:  
**Episode 46: Aurora's Unyielding Blade**

_It's Morphin' Time!_


	13. Episode 46: Aurora's Unyielding Blade

**Episode 46: Aurora's Unyielding Blade**

Back in Vainglory's lair, the shadow dopant continued to fire his high powered energy blast at Alex. The rider flew through the air for a moment before firing a grappling hook from his Carona Blaster and latching it onto a pillar, kicking downward to plant himself on the ground with the grieves on his boots. He gripped both his blaster and the hook's caple, the violent energy rushing over him as he stared down Vainglory who still stood with his hand open, tearing the entire room apart.

With one eye fixed on Vainglory, Alex turned another towards the twin rows of pillars that stood between him and his opponent. Pulling the cable from the blaster, he aimed his gun at the pillar closest to him on the right hand side, firing off a second grappling hook which latched to the pillar. Pulling back on the trigger again, he pulled himself towards it.

Vainglory smirked under his helmet, "Inncolent fool!" He declared, keeping the energy blast going with one hand and conjuring a whip with the other.

Just as Alex reached the first pillar, Vainglory cracked his whip at the pillar and shattered it to bits. Vainglory's smirk widened.

"No where to run," He declared, aiming his energy wave at Alex, "but down!"

Vainglory, feeling that victory was asured, gasped as he saw Alex kick off one of the falling pillar fragments and leap over to the paralelle pillar on the left hand side.

Vainglory snarled, cracking his whip at the pillar Alex had landed on only for the boy to leap up and off it seconds before the whip destroyed it.

Alex fired off his grappling hook up at the cieling, the boy propelling himself up and forward before latching to the surface directly above Vainglory.

"WHAT?!" Roared Vainglory as Alex glared at him, closing his driver and replacing the Blast memory with another and opening the device again.

"BLADE! KICKER!" Roared the driver as Alex shot down, bringing his Bla-jalibur down upon Vainglory as it formed in his hands. His chest armor switched from blue to green as he slashed away at Vainglory, stopping the violent energy blast.

Alex got in a good three strikes in on Vainglory before the dopant reached his hand out and grabbed the Bla-Jalibur by the blade. With a quick jab to the boy's gut, Vainglory ripped the sword from Alex's hand.

Snarling at the boy, Vainglory flipped the sword in his hand so he held it by its hilt then swung it at Alex. Before the blade could so much as graze him however, Alex closed his driver once again and switched out the Blade memory.

"STAR! KICKER!" Roared the driver, the Bla-Jalibur dissolving into data as Alex's chest armor switched from green to red and catching Vainglory's fist.

With a snarl, Vainglory summoned his own sword from his free hand and slashed away at Alex. The boy dodged each swing, countering with a punch to Vainglory's wrist which made him drop the sword before leading into a triple roundhouse kick right to Vainglory's face.

The kicks stunned him for a second, resulting in Alex going for a trio of punches to the dopant only for Vainglory to catch the third.

"You…worthless piece of garbage!" he snarled at Alex, tightening his grasp on Alex's fist. "Is this some game to you?!" He glared at the clock which read two fifteen, "Do it, use that Maximum Form of yours and this will be over!"

"I don't need it," Alex told him as he ripped his fist from Vainglory's grasp, "not against you anyway."

"Not against me…?" Vainglory stared at him for a moment then laughed, conjuring a pair of whips, "If you believe that… You'll never win!" He roared, lashing away at Alex with the whips.

One whip cracked against Alex's shoulder, the boy barring the pain as he switched memories again. "STAR! RUNNER!" Roared the driver, the grieves on his feet dissolving as his leg armor changed from green to red.

The boy leapt back, dodging each whip easily with his increased speed. "Thats where you're wrong Jason," Alex thought to himself, eyeing the clock in the corner of his eye, "You've already lost."

{Insert Opening Theme: "Extreme Dream" by Labor Day}

On the snow-covered street, a squad car plowed through the layers of white powder with Marcoh behind the wheel. A sudden turn and a stop cause a previosly sleeping Kat to spring up from the back with Marcoh's police hat on her head.

"BACON?!" She screamed, looking from side to side only to yawn when she laid eyes on Marcoh. "Geez pops, could you lay off the crazy driving?"

"Sorry, I forgot you were back there," he said as he got the car started again. "We're in a bit of a hurry. The riders have engaged two of META's commanders."

"Spite and Vainglory…" Kat yawned, sitting herself up and buckling herself in, "those are all that's left, ya?"

"That's right, but taking them out is easier said than done," Marcoh told her, eyeing Kat in the rear view mirror, "due to their parental bonds to Tara, Carter and Alex."

Kat let out a heavy sigh, staring at her reflection in the mirror. Her mind drifted back to her staring into a large vanity in the back if Crave's Bar with a stunned look on her face and Desire's pale blue hands on her shoulders.

"This is… really me, right?" Kat asked, touching her reflection with one hand, her heart beginning to swell.

"Of course. It's your own face, chest and figure, all altered as you requested," Desire cooed, running her hand through Kat's long hair, "what do you think?"

"Its.. I'm.. perfect…" Kat muttered. "Well.. except for…"

Desire raised a brow, "Except for what?" She asked. "You can tell me and I'll fix it."

Kat blushed, a grin coming to her face, "Well.. would it be possible… to make me…" she eyed the demon behind her, "able to have kids?"

"You wish to bare children?" Desire asked.

Kat nodded, "Well.. at some point anyway."

"Hmm.." Desire thought for a moment, her hand on her hip with another to her chin. "I can adjust your features as much as you please, but reworking you internally? That might prove difficult," she smirked then eyed the girl in the mirror in front of her, "without payment anyway."

"Name it," Kat told her with a stern gaze, "and I'll do it."

Desire's gaze widened in a slight bit of shock, "You really want this, don't you?" Kat simply nodded. Desire smirked, "Very well," she snapped her fingers causing images of Cole Tara to appear in the mirror, "drive a wedge between these two individuals and I'll grant your request."

Kat stared at the two in the mirror, "Who are these two?" She asked, looking over her shoulder to Desire, "enemies of yours?"

"You could say that," Desire said, meeting Kat's gaze, "so, is it a deal?"

A devious smirk appeared on Kat's face, "As if you even had to ask?"

Back in the cop car, Kat came back to the present, "Geez.." she rolled her head back, "why do parents have to suck so damn hard?"

In the lobby of META HQ, Carter, Shiore and Ashley carved through X2 Blade Troopers on their way to the elevator they were guarding. Cutting through a pair of Blade Troopers with her glaives, Ashley touched down in front of the elevator's control panel and quickly struck the up button on it. The light didn't turn on.

"Come on!" She gritted her teeth, hitting it a few more times before eventually punching the wall with one fist, "Damn it!" She roared.

A trio of Blade Troopers lept towards her, Ash cutting down one with the other two being struck by the swords of Carter and Shiore who landed with their backs to the water rider. Upon being hit, the X2 Trooper armor shattered leaving them as suited goons who fell asleep on the floor.

"Elevator is down!" Ash told them.

"Then we'll find another way up," Carter told her, shooting a ball of fire from his palm and blasting away more troopers that were rushing towards them.

On the other side of the lobby, Madison huddled under a desk clutching her bag as blaster fire roared over her head. Taking a deep breath, she poked her head out only to see a pair of X2 Blast Troopers staring her down with their guns aimed at the red head.

Madison's heart skipped a beat as they cocked their guns. As they pulled back on the triggers of their blasters however, Tara swooped down from above and chopped their weapons in half with one clean swipe from her Gale Slicer.

"Keep your hands off of her!" Barked Tara, kicking the disarmed troopers with a high powered spin kick.

With his hammer in hand, Cole came up and knelt beside Madison, "You alright?" He asked, Madison nodded with a determined look in her eye.

"MADDY!" Tara barked as she quickly swapped her gaia memories, "This is no place for someone who can't fight!"

"HURRICANE!" Roared her driver she flipped Kree's head back to his active position, ascending to her Hurricane form with her wings on her back and Smiter in hand.

She quickly switched it to its bow mode and aimed it at a squad of advancing troopers. "Give the Superstar's memories to Rocky and get yourself outta here!" She ordered, taking out the troopers with a single shot.

"I…" Madison gripped her bag as she looked to Cole, sharply swallowing as Cold held his hand out, "I can't!" She told Tara.

"Why the hell not?!" Barked Tara as she kept up her barrage of arrows at any trooper who dared to approach.

"I can't explain it, but Vainglory seems unable to touch me!" She explained, "That's why I'm the best person to hold onto the memories."

"And.. you're sure about doing this?" Cole asked, gripping his hammer as he looked Madison in the eye.

Madison nodded, "Dead."

Cole rose to his feet, grasping his hammer with both of his hands, "Then get behind me." Madison nodded once more, hoping to get behind Cole.

Within the blink of an eye, Shiore appeared beside Cole. "Elevator is deactivated." She told him as Carter and Ashley landed beside Tara, taking out a good hand full of both Blade and Blast type X2 Troopers.

"Figures," Cole gritted his teeth. His gaze darted across the lobby before his eyes fell upon a door marked with a symbol for stairs.

Shiore followed his gaze, raising a brow, "They probably have it locked down."

"I know," he swung his hammer down upon the nearby wall, poking his head in to see the back of a stairwell. "Still worth a shot."

Shiore eyed the trio of riders still locked in combat with the X2 Troopers, "So, what's the plan?"

"You, Ash and Carter are gonna get Madison to Alex," he told her, "Tara and I will cover you from this end."

Shiore nodded, "Everyone got that?!" She called back to Carter, Ash and Tara.

Tara maintained her barrage as Carter and Ash leapt back to join Shiore, Cole and Madison.

"Three dps, no tanks or healers…" Ashley gave Cole a look, "are you sure the ice queen, flame boy and I are the best fit for this?"

"The best defence is a strong offense," Cole told her.

Ash couldn't help but snicker, "You're starting to sound like Tara," she said with a smirk under her mask.

"I'll take that as a compliment," Cole motioned to the hole in the wall, "now get going."

Madison, Ash, Carter and Shiore nodded in unison before heading into the opening Cole had made for them. Cole lifted the desk beside him and used it to block the hole, Tara leaping into the air and gliding down beside him.

"You're always cleaning up after those kids, aren't ya Rocky?" Tara teased, aiming down the remaining X2 Troopers.

"They have their place," Cole said, switching his memories out, "and I have mine."

"BITER!" Roared his driver as he flicked his switch, his armor switching from vibrant green to gun metal grey.

"Oh?" Tara raised a brow at him, "and where might that be?"

Cole switched on his blades, "Right here, beside you and Kat."

Tara smiled at Cole under her mask, heart swelling as she stared down the troopers who aimed their guns and swords at the pair of riders, "I wish she was here right now."

Cole sharply swallowed, "So do I."

"So, you've cut your numbers?" Asked the Star Trooper as he marched out in front of his remaining forces, placing his hands on his hips as he stared down Tara and Cole. "That was most likely the most foolish choice you could've made."

"GORGE!" Roared from behind the troopers, Kat leaping over them in her dopant form and landing only feet away from Tara and Cole.

Tara stared at Kat, blinking her eyes for a moment before clasping her hands together, "Now I wish I was a triple f cup and had a lifetime supply of coffee!"

"Ah, finally reinforcements," Smirked the Star Trooper as he gestured a splayed open hand to Tara and Cole. "Gorge! Be a good boy and attack! Now!"

Kat shot a glare at the star trooper, barring her claws at him. "As if you need to ask." She said before turning on her heel and plunging her claws into a nearby Blade Trooper

Outside, Sampson and Marcoh stood in front of the line of patrol cars with several SWAT officers guarding the perimeter of the building.

"Are you sure it was the best idea to send her in there?" Sampson eyed Marcoh, "she's a bit out of practice."

"Out of practice or not," Marcoh shot a sharp glare towards the top of the building, noting the moon that was beginning to be overtaken by the earth's shadow, "they're gonna need all the help they can get."

Back inside, Ashley, Madison, Carter and Shiore crept towards the edge of the stairs inside the seemingly empty stairwell.

"Not one trooper?" Ash whispered quietly as she poked her head out from the stair's shadow, "you'd think they'd-"

She was suddenly pulled back from Shiore who glared at her, then conjured an ice clone and had it walk out from the shadows and onto the stairs itself. There was a loud echoed cocking of guns, then a barrage of laser blasts rained down from above onto Shiore's double, shattering it instantly.

Ashley's heart dropped, Madison reaching into her hand bag and pulling out a small compact mirror and aimed it up the stairs. She swallowed hard as she laid eyes on a full troop of X2 Blast troopers with heavy rifles instead of their usual twin pistols in the reflection of her mirror.

Stared at the reflection, counting on her fingers as she knelt down before gripping her sword. "Haze," Shiore spoke, "can you form a bubble of water?"

"I think so… this stairwell is certainly humid enough," Ash told the ice rider, raising a brow at her, "why?"

"Just do it," Shiore returned.

"O-Okay.." Ashley put her hands together, flexing her arm muscles as water droplets from all over clustered together into an orb that grew until it was just bigger than a basketball. "That's about as big as I can make it," winced Ashley, "without syphonying out anyone's bodily fluids."

"That will do," Shiore stuck her leg out into a running stance, keeping low to the ground. "Carter," she spoke to her fiance, "smoke them out."

Carter nodded, then shot the bubble of water with a quick fire blast that filled the entire stairwell with steam. The moment the well was filled with thick fog, blaster fire rained down from above once more. This did not disway Shiore however, as she in turn leapt into the line of fire and evaded every shot as she darted up the stairs.

Drawing her sword, three ice clones formed beside her as she and her clones cut through the X2 troopers on the landing and took them out with a single unified strike. Once her feet were steady on the landing, she paused herself and her clones before holding her breath.

While perfectly still, she could hear movement both below and above her. It was in that single moment no shorter than a breath that she knew what to do. She continued upward while the midst still hung in the air, leaping from landing to landing with her clones and slicing through each and every clone that stood in her way until she reached the highest point of the stairwell.

Cutting down the final trooper, she sheathed her sword as the midst fell. "All clear!" She called down to her allies as she eyed a single door at the top of the final landing, "we may proceed!"

The moment Shiore called out to them, Ashley and Carter flew up to the top with Ashley carrying Madison on her back.

"Only one door?" Ashley asked as she set Madison down. She looked to Carter, "Any idea where it goes?"

Carter shook his head then reached for the door. "Only one way to find out," he said before opening the door.

The group walked through the door into a large open room that was completely empty and covered in reflective black tiles on the walls, floor and ceiling. The gaze of the group focused almost instantly on the only feature of the room, Spite, who stood in her dopant form in front of the only other door to the room.

"So.. there you are," Carter glared, raising his blade to his mother. Shiore and Ashley readied their own blades, Madison keeping behind Ashley.

"Hello Carter," Spite looked to him, six red orbs of energy forming around her, "It's been awhile."

Back in Vainglory's lair, Alex in Star Kicker form and the shadow dopant exchanged blows until with one final punch from Alex Vainglory caught the boy's fist in the palm of his hand.

"Your determination is admirable," Snarled the dopant twist the boy's wrist, Alex gritting his teeth as he widened his stance to remain standing, "but your efforts are futile. Don't you see that?!"

"Futile or not, I don't care!" Alex barked at him, "What you're doing is evil, so i'm gonna stop you no matter what."

"Evil? Rich, coming from you!" Vainglory kneed Alex in the gut, stunning the boy before grabbing him by the throat and slamming him into a nearby collum. "I've seen you kill! I've seen you abandon the girl you claimed to love, then betray her with another! You call that nobel?!"

"Heh…" Alex laughed as he gasped for air, "Guess I'm just like her.. aren't I Jason?"

Vainglory snarled, throwing a hard punch into Alex's gut, "Open the gate while you still draw breath!"

Alex glanced towards him, "And why should I?" He asked as the clock ticked to half past two. "What do you plan to gain from it?"

Vainglory smirked under his helmet, "I may as well tell you," he said as his shadow struck a button on his throne, the center of the room opening up as Vainglory lifted Alex off the ground by his throat. "I plan to rid the world of pain and misery."

"And how.. do you plan.. to do that?" Alex asked, his eyes drifting below as Vainglory hung him over the seemingly bottomless pit in the floor.

"Intelligent design, to make up for God's mistake when he made us," glared Vainglory, his shadow striking another button resulting in fire shooting up from the pit. Alex's feet retracted as the flames scorched the bottom of his boots. "Once the gate is opened, I shall rebuild the world so that each woman is made for one man, and once she finds him her mind shall become linked to his so that NOTHING can be hidden from him! EVER!"

"That's… INSANE!" Alex protested, "People would revolt in a world like that!"

"Hence why.." Vainglory's smirk widened, "any who do not fit in my perfect world shall be erased," he snapped his fingers, "just like that."

Alex gasped, "No.."

"Yes," Vainglory crushed Alex's throat, "meaning you, that officer who made you.. and all those friends of yours who dared to defy me!" He held his free hand out, "So I ask once more, will you activate you Maximum form and open the gate for me?"

Alex glared at Vainglory, gripping the dopant's arm, "No way in hell!"

"Pity.. back to square one then," Vainglory said, releasing Alex from his grasp and dropping him into the pit below.

{End of Part A}

{Start of Part B}

Two floors down within the confines of Madison's hand bag, the Xtreme memory shook violently for a moment only to calm itself and lay dormant seconds later. This went unnoticed by Madison however, as she stood behind Ashley gripping her hand bag as she stared down Spite. Shiore and Ashley stared her down also, Carter stepping forward while gripping the Ryu-O Buster.

"Mother, we're putting a stop to this," he told her simply, "let us through, or else."

Spite narrowed her gaze upon her son, Xtreme's Star Runner form phasing over Carter's Ryu-O form in her eyes for a moment. The image faded with a sucking of Spite's teeth, the dopant snapping her fingers to order the orbs around her to hurl towards the fire rider.

With a single step back, the three riders darted to different parts of the room. Carter shot to the left and Shiore the right, the ice rider calling forth three of her clones as Carter swapped out his memories and re-spun his driver.

"PHOENIX!" roared the driver as Carter donned his more powerful armor in a spiraling inferno, his Ryu-O buster re-forging itself into the Phoenix King Blade.

Ashley meanwhile flared out her water wings. "Hold on!" she called to Madison, who climbed onto the water rider's back as she soared up to the ceiling.

With her eyes darting from rider to rider, Spite formed another six orbs and readied them to strike. Segmenting them into pairs for each target, her eyes shifted from Carter on her right, to Shiore on her left then final to Ashley above her. In the split second Spite's eyes were off her however, Shiore and her clones rushed towards the dopant and brought all four of her blades down upon Spite at once. Two clones struck at her from the side with the third striking from above and Shiore knocking Spite into the wall behind her with an underhand swing.

Spite became stunned as her back struck the wall, falling to the ground as she felt the impact of the wind getting knocked out of her only after she hit the floor beneath her. Spite raised her head only to find the four blades of Shiore and her clones pointed at her throat with the four of them glaring into the eyes of the grounded dopant.

"We'll handle her," Shiore told Ashley and Madison as Carter came to her side, "you two get going."

Ashley and Madison bolted for the door while Spite glared at Shiore.

"Mother," Carter looked to Spite on the floor, "Why do you cling to everything Vainglory does? Tell me!"

Spite glared at him, a red orb forming in her hand, "If you defeat me.. maybe I'll tell you.." she snarled before chucking the orb at her son.

Madison and Ashley darted up a narrow stairwell just beyond the door, the pair came to a halt as they turned the corner on the landing only to come face to face with an entire squad of X2 Star Troopers.

"Fucking hell!" Barked Ashley, pulling Madison onto her back and shooting upwards with a powerful kick.

With a short glide from her wings, she touched down on the landing on the other side of the troopers and tossed Madison to floor. Gripping her glaives, she sliced the stairwell apart resulting in several troopers falling into the abyss below. With another strong kick, Ash then jumped over to other landing and began carving into the remaining troopers.

"ASH!" Madison called out to her, going to jump back to the other landing before being stopped dead in her tracks by a single glare from Ashley.

"You idiot! Getting going already!" Ash called to her, catching the fist of a star trooper before tossing them back into the mob.

"But!" Madison called back, "What about you?!"

"Forget about me! You were the one who decided to do this, right?" Ash said, gripping her glaives tight, "Finish it!"

Madison gasped, then with a single nod she turned on her heel and continued up the stairs that remained behind her.

Hearing a heavy door open and shut, Ash refocused her gaze on the troopers in front of her. Her heart raced as the troopers stared her down, cracking their knuckles at her. Time stood still until a slight buzz went off from Ashley's hip.

"Hmm?" She perked a brow, pulling out her phone and read a single message.

"Kayla:" the phone read, "Hey, I know its late but I just wanted to check that you got home safe. Text me back, kay?"

Ashley's heart calmed, texting back, "Yeah, I'm good. Thanks." She smirked as she put her phone away, her gaze sharpening upon the X2s before rushing into them and carving away at the horde before her.

Back on the ground floor of the building, several X2 troopers had their transformations shattered by Kat running her claws threw them resulting in them toppling to the floor. She cleaved through the remaining Blade troopers while Cole and Tara took care of what was left of the Blast Troopers.

Stretching herself out, Kat flared out her claws then smirked, "Man! It feels so good to be back in action!"

"DAMN YOU GORGE!" Roared the one remaining Star trooper who pointed a finger at Kat, "YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE ON OUR SIDE! NOW ACT LIKE IT!"

Kat's eyes shot open, turning into daggers as this specific wording dragged up a memory she had long since buried. "DAMN IT BOY!" roared the gruff voice of an older man in the back of her head, "YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO OUR SON! NOW ACT LIKE IT!"

Her eyes turned to daggers, Kat cupping her cheek as she recalled the sharp sting of a belt being whipped across her face. "What did you just say?" She snarled, turning to face the Star Trooper.

"You heard me you stupid beast!" spat the Star Trooper as he pointed a finger at Cole and Tara, "KILL THEM!"

A violent wind rushed over the trooper, Kat suddenly behind him with her one claw up in the air. "Let me tell you one thing," she shot a glare at the star trooper as his driver began to spark. "I'm exactly who and where I'm supposed to be. Got that?"

The star trooper simply choked, his driver and armor shattering as he dropped to his knees and fell to the floor.

"KAT!" Yelled Tara as she and Cole ran up and through their arms around her, "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm okay," Kat let out a sigh of relief as she threw her own arms around her boyfriend and girlfriend. She sharply swallowed, "Look, I know this ain't really the best time but, there's something I feel I should tell you." Her heart beat began to beat hard due to her own nervousness.

Cole and Tara backed up and looked at her. "Alright," Cole spoke simply, "what is it?"

"Tara.. Cole.." Kat gulped, "I'm trans."

Cole and Tara fell silent for a moment, then in unison they both asked as if on instinct, "Okay, what are your preferred pronouns?"

"I'm a she," she couldn't help but laugh, motioning to the combat skirt on her dopant form, "I'm wearing a skirt."

"We just wanted to be sure," Cole said as he and Tara hugged her again, bringing her in tight, "we love you Kat, no matter what."

Kat began to choke up, a tear running down her cheek as she held the both of them. Inside her driver, the bones on her gaia memory shattered and the dull bronze became a brilliant gold. The moment this happened, Kat's dopant form grew ever so slightly brighter in color as a smile came to her face.

"Guys…" she muttered, "does anyone else feel lighter?"

"Probably just relief from getting that off your chest," Cole said, grinning at her under his mask as he cupped her cheek. "Now let's get going, our friends need our help."

Kat and Tara both nodded, the trio heading to the stairwell on the other side of the room.

Back up near the top of the building, Spite chucked red orb after red orb at Carter and Shiore who had currently been sent to opposite sides of the arena. Shiore sent her clones towards Spite only to be struck by the orbs and shattered before they could even come close.

Gripping her sword, Shiore attempted to conjure more clones only for a trio of red orbs to rain down upon her. With a gasp, Shiore rolled to the side just as the orbs hit the floor and exploded beside her.

Shifting her gaze from Shiore to Carter, Spite hurled an orb at her son as he charged towards her. With her hand clenched to control the orb, time slowed as the orb drifted closer to Carter's chest. With a sharp gulp, Spite opened her hand causing the orb to split apart before it hit Carter.

The fire rider didn't notice this, his gaze locked on the dopant in front of him as he quickly closed the distance between them and raised his sword to strike. Gritting her teeth, Spite quickly shot her hand out into his chest and shot a strong wave of energy into her son sending him flying into the wall several feet back.

Shiore stood off to the side, watching with her lower jaw trembling. She a sudden jolt, she reached for her belt and pulled out the Shira memory. Her eyes drifted towards it, her heart beat grinding to a halt as she stared at it.

For a brief second, her arm changed into the claw of a wolf causing her to drop the memory to the floor. Hearing the cling of armor, her eyes shifted up to Carter who was clawing back to his feet as Spite soared towards him with six red orbs spiraling around her.

Flaring her arm out, Spite sent every orb at her son just as he returned to his feet and gripped his sword. Before they could get a second closer to each other, Shiore ducked to the floor and grabbed the memory and ripped the Yuki memory from her belt then slammed the Shira memory into its place and reactivated her driver.

Shiore let out a sharp breath, only for ice to shoot out from her and cover the entire room including Spite and Carter. She gasped, looking at the two of them who were now frozen in time.

"Did you not learn from before young one?" A loud booming voice roared from behind her, "you are unworthy…"

Shiore looked over her shoulder to find herself in a black void with a massive blue wolf looming over her. "O-Okami…" she muttered under her breath.

"Remove my memory from your device," the wolf stared her down, "or you shall be consumed by it."

Shiore sharpened her gaze, turning to face the god before her, "No."

Okami cocked a brow, "You child.. seek to defy me?"

"That is not my intent, mighty lord," she place a fist on her chest then met his gaze. "But I.. I refuse to let anyone else I love die!"

"I see…" Okami stepped back, "and you are certain of this?"

Shiore nodded, "Yes."

"Then you, Shiore Shirayuki," Okami spoke as the ice in the room began to break apart, "are worthy."

The red orbs continued to fly towards Carter only for six Yuki clones to dart in between Carter and the orbs to take the hit for him.

Spite halted her advance, landing on the floor as ice and smoke rained down over the room, "What?!"

As the smoke, Spite saw Shiore standing in her Shira form standing beside Carter. The moon inside the triforce that once adorned the chest of the Shira armor was gone, leaving it clean and the form as a whole was a more brilliant white than ever.

"Carter, you helped me with my demon," Shiore said as she stared down Spite, striking a switch on the Shira memory, "now it's time I help you with yours."

"SHIRA! MAXIMUM DRIVE!" roared the shira memory as the switch was struck.

Carter nodded, giving his driver a final spin. "PHOENIX! MAXIMUM DRIVE!"

Ice and fire twisted around the two riders as they stared down Spite, the pair rush towards her and slashing her with their swords in an X formation.

"BURNING SNOWSTORM!" Cried the two together as Spite was enveloped in their combined elements, her dopant form and gaia memory shattering to bits as a result.

Back within Vainglory's lair, the armored dopant stared into the abyss of the flaming pit he had dropped Alex into. His gaze shifted up to the clock which read a quarter to three, Vainglory gritting his teeth as a result.

"Come on," his eyes darted around the room as he clenched his fist, "Where the hell are you?!"

"BLAST! DIVER!" roared out from the pit, bringing Vainglory's eyes back to it.

The dopant snarled, "What is that idiot doing now?!" he questioned.

His eyes shot open as the flames were soon overtaken by water that was quickly building towards the top of the pit.

"STAR! DIVER!" roared Alex's driver, a pair of red eyes glaring out from the abyss of the water at Vainglory. The eyes grew bigger as the water began to grow more violent from the repetitive motion of kicking down below.

"Nice try," scowled Vainglory, his shadows striking a button on his throne causing the pit to begin to close.

Just as the mouth of the pit was almost shut, Alex shot out from the water with his eyes fixed on Vainglory and his hands on his driver. With a quick motion of his hands, he switched out his memories and reset his driver.

"BLADE! DIVER!" roared the driver as the top half of his armor switched from red to green with the Bla-Jalibur forming in his hands. Gripping his sword with both of his hands, Alex flipped over Vainglory and landed back to back with the dopant. Shooting a glare at him, Alex turned on his heel and proceeded to carve into the dopant's side.

One level down, Rylee opened her eyes with a wince to find Carter and Shiore looming above her with a stern gaze.

"So," she glared, "are the two of you going to kill me now?"

"Don't be stupid," Carter knelt down, offering a hand to help her up, "you still need to answer a few things."

"Alright," Rylee refused Carter's hand, sitting herself up as she glared at him, "what to want to know?"

"Why do you still follow Vainglory?" Carter asked her directly.

Rylee scoffed, avoiding his gaze, "I followed him, because I loved him, and believed in what he wanted to do…" she huffed, "now, I only have one thing left driving me."

"That being?" Carter asked, Shiore glaring at Rylee while aiming her swords at the depowered woman.

"To destroy the man I thought I loved," Rylee turned to Carter, looking him in the eye, "and help the son of the sister I thought I despised."

"Then why keep us here?!" Shiore snarled, taking a step forward, "If you wanted to help Alex, you should have simply let us through!"

"He wanted me to…" Rylee told her, looking at Shiore, "the moment he arrived, I looked into his eyes and could tell right away that he and I had the same idea.. To stall out the clock, make Jason angrier and angrier as his window grew smaller and smaller. Then, once victory was assured, allow the four of you to come in and finish him off."

"You could tell all that?" Carter asked her, "Just from a glance?"

"He's my sister's son.." Rylee smiled sadly, "even after all this time, my bond with her remains." She added, wiping a single tear from her eye.

"If what you say is true," Shiore eyed the door, "then we need to go." She began making her way to the door, "Carter, come."

Carter nodded, then rose to follow Shiore. He took a step forward only to be stopped by Rylee reaching out and grabbing him by the wrist. With a gasp, Carter turned to face his mother who still lay with her eyes on the floor.

"Carter… I'm sorry… I was wrong…" she gulped, just barely managing the strength to look her son in the eye, "Is there anyway, that you could forgive me?"

Carter stared at her then took in a deep breath, "Well I get back… we'll talk," he said as he breathed out, "okay?"

Rylee nodded, then gulped, "Thank you."

Without another word, Carter and Shiore rushed to the door at the back of the room and proceeded out of it.

One level up, Madison ran down a long empty hallway reading the labels of each door as she passed them by. With her eyes forward, she gasped as a pair of doors shifted just in front of her. As the doors opened, Madison ducked behind a nearby pillar as a squad of X2 Troopers rushed out from the door and marched past her. Madison held her breath, not moving a single muscle until she heard the footsteps of the troopers fade into the distance until they could no longer be heard by her ears.

Letting out a heavy breath, Madison continued down the hall until she came to a large pair of doors at the very end that were withered and torn from the inside out. She stared at them, feeling a dark aura seep out from them before stepping forward and pushing them open.

"ALEX?!" she called into the dark, her eyes scanning the room before gasping the scene in the middle of the room.

Alex stood in his civilian form, Vainglory's hand over the top of his with one of the dopant's serrated swords running through his gut. Madison's skin ran cold, color fading from her skin as she trembled at the sight in front of her.

Still conscious, Alex managed to look up at the girl by the door, "Madison…?" he muttered, managing a slight grin at the sight of her.

"Madison?... Madison Tyler?" Vainglory turned to the redhead, driving his sword into a nearby pillar to pin Alex to it. "You weren't supposed to see this," he told her as he stepped towards her, a whip forming in his fist, "Oh well, what is one more body to the pile?"

The doors shut behind Madison, the girl jumping as Vainglory slashed his whip across Madison's body only for it to phase right through her. Madison breathed heavily, staring at the dopant who now stood directly in front of her.

Vainglory snarled then back handed Madison to the floor and knocking her hand bag from her grasp, scattering its contents which included the Xtreme and Maximum memories and Madison's Ninja Storm Red Ranger key.

"WHY?!" he barked, holding his hand as it began to smoke as he drove his foot into Madison's gut, "YOU'RE JUST A STUPID! USELESS! ANNOYING HUMAN GIRL!" He balled his hand into fist as Madison reached out to grab the memories only for Vainglory to stomp on her hand, "WHY CAN'T I TOUCH YOU?!"

With each step onto her hand, Madison cried out in agony as Alex could only watch with the sword driven into his gut. Smoke began rising from the bottom of Vainglory's boot, a slight glimmer shooting off from the red ninja storm key which caught Madison's eye, her cries immediately stopping.

"I don't know why I even bother," huffed Vainglory as he stepped off Madison's hand, "you aren't even worth killing."

The moment Vainglory stepped off her hand, Madison reached for her red ranger key. As she did, a bring pink light shot off from it and the Homura ring on her finger which blinded Vainglory and forced him back. To Alex meanwhile, the light soothed his wound and restored his energy.

"Alex.. are you man enough to make Madison happy?" Sarah's words from when he first got together with Madison echoed in his mind as he stared down at the sword in his gut. "Man enough to die for her?"

Without a word, Alex grabbed the sword and pulled it out from his chest. The blade shattered as he fell to the floor just as the light from Madison faded. Once the light was gone, Madison stood face to face with Vainglory with a pink gaia memory marked with an A in her hand in place of the red ranger key and a strange device with a slot big enough for the new memory on her wrist in place of the ring she once wore.

"What the hell is this now?!" Jason snarled with a glare.

Madison gawked at the memory, then stared down Vainglory before raising the memory to her eye line, "Its morphin' time!"

"AURORA!" cried the memory as Madison struck its activation button.

"HENSHIN!" Madison called out, slamming the memory into the device before striking a big blue button on the top of it.

"NO!" roared Vainglory, darting to Madison only to be pushed back by another bright pink light then shot out from Madison as she donned the armor of a pink ninja with heavy shoulder pads that looked more like a power ranger than a kamen rider.

"Madison…" muttered Alex as he climbed to his feet, "You're a…"

"Kamen Rider," declared Madison as she bashed her fists together, "Aurora!"

Madison stared down Vainglory, hitting the blue button on her wrist mounted driver again to call forth a large battle axe. Reaching out to take it, it dropped to the floor the moment she tried to hold it. "Come on girl!" breathed Madison as she hoisted her new weapon over her shoulder and charged forward towards Vainglory, stumbling for a moment before bashing him with the axe and knocking him away.

"MADISON!" Alex cried out, rushing over to hug Madison, "You have no idea how happy I am to see you."

"Ditto," she smiled, hugging him with her free arm. "OH!" she ran to grab the Xtreme and Maximum memories then handed them to Alex, "These are yours, I held onto them just as you asked."

"Thanks," he told her, kissing the top of her helmet, "now we can end this."

"You two.." Vainglory snarled as he stumbled towards the two riders in front of him, "think you can undo all that I have built?!"

Madison and Alex turned with a sharp gaze towards Vainglory, Alex gripping his memories and Madison her axe.

"NOT ON THEIR OWN!" a voice called out from the doors, Vainglory looking towards the door to see Cole, Tara, Ashley, Carter, Shiore and Kat entered the room in their strongest forms before rushing in to form a line around Alex and Madison. Once she was beside Alex, Tara jabbed him in the shoulder.

"OW!" Alex rubbed his shoulder, glaring at her, "What was that for?!"

"For not telling us the plan BEFORE rushing off to face the final boss," Cole looked at him, motioning towards Vainglory while patting Alex on the back, "Do your thing, we're right behind you."

Alex nodded, swapping out his memories and resetting his driver, "STAR! RUNNER!" cried the driver as Alex donned the form he started out with, slipping the Maximum memory into the maximum drive slot on his belt as the Xtreme memory took off into the air and falling down overtop the Star and Runner memories on his driver.

"MAXIMUM! XTREME!" cried the driver once more as Alex took on his final form, the male rider drawing X-Calibur from the white void in the center of his chest.

"Vainglory!" Alex spoke, aiming his blade at the foe before him, "Finally, your rampage ends here!"

{Insert Ending Theme: "Mask" by Aqua Timez}

**Next time on Kamen Rider Ultimate Xtreme:**

The story of the boy who one year ago donned the X Driver and set out on a life changing journey comes to an end.

What awaits him on the other side of the door he has yet to open?

All will be decided when Kamen Rider Xtreme Act Five concludes in:

**Episode 47: WIsh Upon A Star**

_Farewell, Xtreme Kamen Riders!_


	14. Episode 47: Wish Upon a Star

**Episode 47: Wish Upon a Star**

Outside in the snow, Marcoh and Sampson stood at the bottom of the building that was META HQ. Marcoh had his eyes on his watch that read ten minutes to three and Sampson with his eyes up at the moon that was almost fully covered by the shadow of the earth.

"It's almost time," Marcoh said as the seconds ticked away, "soon this will all be over."

Within the shadow of the building's front door, something moved resulting in all the officers aiming their guns at the door. Marcoh held up a hand, telling them to hold fire as he shot a glare into the darkness of the building's main lobby.

"We have the place surrounded!" He called out to whatever was inside, "Come out, before we need to use force."

There was a moment of silence, then, out from the shadows with one closed fist and one open hand came Rylee. She stared down Marcoh, who stared her down in return.

"Where's Vainglory?" Marcoh asked bluntly, the guns of the other officers remaining on Rylee.

"The riders should be dealing with him," she told him as she walked up to him and held her closed fist in front of the officer. "Not that I would know, considering," she opened her fist, revealing the shattered remains of her Spite memory.

Marcoh raised a brow at the fragments, then looked to Rylee, "What's this? Another trap?"

Rylee shook her head. "Its proof," she said before holding her wrists out to Marcoh, "that I was wrong."

Marcoh's eyes widened, taking the memory fragments from Rylee before slapping a pair of cuffs on her wrists. "Thank you.. for coming around…" he whispered to her as he cuffed her.

Sampson watched as Marcoh guided Rylee to a squad car and put her in the back seat, Sampson cocking his gun once Rylee was securely locked up.

"Alright boys," he looked to a troupe of nearby SWAT officers, "we're moving in."

**Kamen Rider Xtreme**

Within Vainglory's lair, the armor dopant stood before the riders and Gorge. Under his helmet, Vainglory snarled as he held his wrist while shooting a glare at Alex who held X-Calibur with the tip of the blade pointed at Vainglory.

"So, what now?" asked the dopant to the riders that stood before him, "you'll kill me and all your dreams will come true?"

"Not yet," Alex said, narrowing his gaze upon Vainglory and lowering his sword ever so slightly, "first you're going to show me how to open the gate. After that, you'll be going away for a very long time Jason."

"So you still wish to open the gate?" growled Vainglory, "and steal everything that I built?!"

Alex nodded, "Considering all you've taken from everyone else? It's only fair."

Vainglory closed his fists, then took a step back, "Very well…" he took in a deep breath allowing a pair of whips to form in his hands, "THEN DIE!" he roared before striking the riders with the full force of his whips.

Just as the whips crashed down over them, Alex raised his shield to block one as Madison raised her axe to block the other. Widening their stances, Kat, Carter and Shiore stood behind Madison with their swords tightly gripped in their hands while Ashley, Tara and Cole clustered around Alex.

Alex had his eyes locked on Vainglory as he held up the repeated force of the whip that was crashing down upon him, only for his gaze to drift towards the throne that sat directly behind the dopant before him moments later. With a slight breath, Alex looked over to Ashley and motioned to the throne. Nodding, Ashley gripped her warglaives and darted off to the far side of the room. Kat noticed this and rushed in the same direction as Ashley.

Just as Vainglory's whips came down upon them again, Alex and Madison cut the whips in half with the blades of their weapons. Madison flipped her axe around once the whips fell to the floor, almost on instinct then gasped once she found that her axe was now a rifle.

"Now we're talkin'!" she cheered before firing off a few shots at Vainglory.

Madison only got a few hits in before Vainglory covered himself with his cloak and glared at her, conjuring a pair of swords. With a loud thunderous step forward, Vainglory began to march towards Madison only for him to be stopped by Carter and Shiore darting in front of him and slashing them with their own swords.

Despite the sudden attack, Vainglory was able to parry Shiore's twin swords with his own and catch the full weight of the carter's Phoenix King Blade with his free hand.

"One more step, and that's it for you," snarled Carter, continuing to push his sword into the palm of Vainglory's hand.

As the parry held, Cole and Tara made eyes with each other than nodded. Tara flying up with her bow as Cole struck the touch screen on his belt. "MAX-BITER!" cried the driver as all of his weapons formed up onto his body, using his feet mounted treads to whip over to Madison.

"Keep firing," he whispered to Madison before unloading his gatling gun and shoulder mounted missile pods at Vainglory while skirting around him from behind.

Madison nodded, keeping up her own shots as Tara hurled down arrows from above.

Wincing from the oncoming fire, Vainglory shoved Shiore away then ripped the Phoenix King Blade from Carter's hand before tossing it away. Eyes locked upon Carter, Vainglory conjured another sword with his free hand and proceeded to stab it into Carter's chest. Before the blade could so much as pierce Carter however, a snap of the fire rider's finger brought the Phoenix King Blade back into his grasp with a burst of fire just in time to block Vainglory's sword and bash him back a few feet.

Alex, who stood watching all this, looked to his own hand then to the X-Calibur. Time seemed to slow down around him as he took in a deep breath, exhaled then raised his sword high causing it to glow in a soothing pink light. As Tara, Cole, Shiore and Carter fought, they began to glow in the colors of their respective elements before the Gale, Rock, Ryu-O and Yuki memories flew off from them and into the guard of X-Calibur.

"GALE! MEMORY CHARGE!" shouted the sword as white wings grew out from Alex's shoulders, "ROCK! MEMORY CHARGE!" out came shin guards on Alex's legs, "YUKI! MEMORY CHARGE!" flipped out the claws on Alex's wrists, "RYU-O! MEMORY CHARGE!" switched on the fire blasters in the palms of Alex's hands.

Gripping X-Calibur in his right hand, Alex dropped the Maximum Defender to the ground as the Star memory flew out from him and into the slot on X-Calibur's hilt. "STAR! MEMORY CHARGE!" roared the sword one final time, Alex snapping the fingers of his free hand as a burst of fire erupted from it.

He flexed his arm, feeling the armor on his skin beginning to burn as the fire from his blaster rose up and into the form of a blade. With a loud whoosh as the fire broke away, he gasped when he found that he was now holding the Ryu-O Buster.

He gripped the sword tight, his gaze shifting to the fire rider as he threw the sword over his shoulder, "CARTER!" he yelled, tossing it to him.

Carter whipped his head around then shot out his arm to catch the Ryu-O buster with his own free hand, the blades of the two swords he now held igniting in fire as he turned his gaze back to Vainglory. The dopant cracked his neck, gripping his own two swords as Carter marched towards him. Alex picked up the Maximum Defender again and gripped it in his hand

Carter slashed Vainglory across his chest in an x formation, Vainglory going to block the attack only for his swords to shatter under the combined force of the Ryu-O Buster and Phoenix King Blade. With a gasp, Vainglory stepped back to just barely dodge the twin fire swords crashing down upon him and into the floor instead, shattering several tiles and even the cement base beneath it in the process.

It was then that Alex rushed in, Cole, Madison and Tara keeping up their fire on Vainglory as Alex slashed Vainglory across his chest. The hit landed, breaking the dopant's armor apart which stunned Vainglory for a moment and allowed Carter to get a second hit on him to knock him to the floor. Once he was grounded, four ice kunai struck each of his limbs and froze Vainglory to the floor where he lay as Shiore jumped down beside Carter and Alex.

Vainglory glared at the trio of riders, the three of them aiming their swords at Vainglory as Alex raised his fist causing the fire from Madison, Cole and Tara to stop. Vainglory stared at Alex who in turn stared back at him.

"I'll ask once more, Vainglory," Alex told him, "tell me how to open the gate, right now."

Vainglory grunted, eyeing the clock which currently read one minute to three. His breath became heavier as his heart began to ache. That was until he glances down at Alex, Shiore and Carter's feet and noticed a small slit under where they stood. His look of terror changed to that of a devious smirk once he realized that Carter, Shiore and Alex were standing over his own trap door.

"Why should I?" he laughed, his shadows drifting towards his throne, "when I have already won?" His shadows crept over the arm of his throne, searching for the button to open the trap door but instead found nothing. Nothing but an empty gap and cut wire. He gasped, beginning to shake again. "What?!..." he muttered.

"Sorry," Ashley spoke as she and Kat came up to him, Kat raising her claws covered in wire casing while Ashley held up the button panel, "old habits."

"Face it Vainglory," Alex stuck his sword right in Vainglory's face as the clock struck three, the entire chamber filling with the ringing of bells, "you have lost."

Vainglory gritted his teeth, "No…" he balled his fists up as his thick purple aura began to ooze out from him and cover his entire body as tears began to roll down his face, "NOOO!"

Crying out in agony, his aura shot out from his body and rushed over all of the riders and Kat. Madison and Alex remained standing, however the rider forms of Tara, Cole, Shiore, Carter and Ashley, even Kat's dopant form shattered instantly and threw them into the far walls of the room. Not even Kat's dopant form was spared, the brown haired girl flying into Cole who caught her just before she hit the wall.

"I've got ya.." he said with a wince from where he had been driven into the wall.

With the ice that held him shattered, Vainglory rose to his feet and knocked Madison away with a heavy punch to her head. With a sudden cry, Madison toppled to the floor several feet away from Vainglory and Alex

"MADISON!" yelled Alex as he reached out to grab her only to be grabbed instead by Vainglory.

"I wouldn't worry about her, boy!" snarled the dopant as he grabbed Alex by the throat, ripping X-Calibur from Alex's hand. "I'd worry about yourself!" Covering the blade in his own dark aura, Vainglory raised the sword to Alex's gut. "Now give me.. MY PERFECT WORLD!" demand the dopant before plunging the sword into the white gap in Alex's armor.

Alex gasped as the blade ran through his body, staring down as his entire body began to tremble. The other riders and Kat all gasped as well, the room falling so silent you could hear a pin drop as Vainglory turned the blade inside Alex like a key in a lock. Once turned, a huge ray of white light shot out from Alex and covered the entire room.

Vainglory stared into the white light, his grip on X-Calibur loosening as he saw something in the center of the light. His lip began to quiver as a delicate female hand reached out to him, "Alice….?" he muttered as tears continued to seep out from his eyes, reaching out to take hold of the hand he saw, "is that… really you?"

Feel the white energy spill out from him, Alex soon felt a sense of calm within it. The loud rushing noise that crashed over his ears soon faded into a soothing white noise as his eyes slowly but surely closed.

With a gasp, he opened his eyes up only to find himself at the bottom of the hill that lead up to Ardent Secondary School. He was no longer in his Maximum Form, instead in his day to day street close with his backpack slung over his shoulder and the morning sun shining down upon him. He looked to a watch on his wrist which read eight thirty-five then gasped once again.

"Oh crap! I'm late!" he shouted before beginning to bolt up the hill. After a five minute walk he stopped about halfway up the hill to catch his breath, "Why does this hill have to be so damn big?" He said breathing heavily as a blond haired girl about his age walked up behind him.

"It's not that big, you're just lazy." The girl said as she walked past Alex.

Alex felt his stop, looking up to see that he recognized that blond head of hair. "Sarah…" he muttered to himself as he returned to his feet, "what are you doing here so early? Don't you have a spare right now?"

"Yes," She replied turning to face Alex, "but that's not an excuse for being late."

"Preppy as always I see." Alex whispered as he began to walk again.

"Better to be preppy then lazy." Sarah said starting back up the hill.

"Hey, that's!" Alex shouted pointing at Sarah, "... uh."

Sarah stopped and turned back to face Alex again, "'Uh' what?"

"Nothing," Alex returned as he shuffled awkwardly past Sarah, "I'll just ignore that."

"As you do with all of your problems," Sarah retorted, "Honestly Alex, I wonder what your parents must think."

Alex stopped dead in his tracks, "Yeah, so do I sometimes..." he said before balling his hand into a fist, "but, it's my hope that they're proud of me.. Especially after all I've been through." He blinked for a moment, another gasp escaped his lips, "Wait a minute!" he looked to Sarah and grabbed her by the shoulders, "Sarah.. Am I dead?! Where the hell are we?!"

Sarah stared at him for a while as she was pushed back, then grinned as she grabbed him by the hand, "So, you figured it out then?" she asked him, "I was wondering how long it would take you to catch on."

"Catch on, what?" Alex asked, only for Sarah to smack him on the cheek. "OW!" he glared at her, holding his cheek. "What was that for?!"

"For throwing Madison away when you had her and tramping around with Ashley," Sarah told him, only to wrap her arms around him and pull him into a close and warm hug before he could say a single word, "and this.. Is for everything else."

The sudden hug sent warmth in Alex, he putting his own arms around Sarah as he held her back, "Sarah… I've missed you… but where are we?"

"Wait," she looked up to him, "you mean you still haven't figured it out?" Alex shook his head, "Then let me ask you this," she looked him in the eye, stepping away from him and placing her hands on her hips, "If you could wish for anything, what would it be?"

Alex looked her in the eye, thinking about it for a moment before letting out a sigh, "I'd wish to go back to the start.. And prevent all of this from happening."

"Alex, you know you can't do that," Sarah told him, placing a hand on his shoulder, "life isn't about wanting to go back, it's about moving forward. No matter how many mistakes you've made along the way."

"Then…" he balled his other hand into a second fist, "I wish for the power to defeat Vainglory… and also…"

Back in Vainglory's lair, the armored dopant reached out for the female's hand. Just as he was about to grab it, it turned into a fist and shot out from Alex's body and punched Vainglory back. The moment Vainglory was away from him, Alex grabbed onto the hilt of his sword and turned it before attempting to pull it out.

The moment he did, however, he felt X-Calibur begin to be pulled deeper into him towards his heart. This resulted in Alex gripping the blade tighter as the fist that punched Vainglory fell back into his body. His arms were beginning to shake, buckling under the force of the blade. Letting out a slight breath, Alex looked over to his friends who stared back to him. With a grin forming on his face, a single tear rolled down Alex's cheek as he allowed the grip on his sword to loosen.

From their place in the wall and floor, Madison and Cole balled up their fists then darted over to Alex and grabbed the hilt of the sword and began to pull it out. "Don't you let go!" Cole barked at Alex, "Don't you EVER think of letting go!"

Tara and Kat rushed over, grabbing the hilt as well and beginning to pull it out with everything they had. However, the blade continued to sink further into Alex.

Tara gritted her teeth, "Come on!" she barked, looking over to Carter as tears began to form in her eyes, "COME ON!"

Shiore and Carter rushed over, gripping the sword themselves and beginning to pull it out themselves with Ashley joining moments later. With the seven of them together, the blade came further and further away from Alex's heart before coming out completely. The riders and Kat released their hold on it, Alex gripping it with both his hands as he regained his feet.

The blade, still engulfed in white light, fired it off into the ceiling where it stuck before forming into a bright white orb that caused each and every shadow in the room to dissolve and retract into its source.

Vainglory stared at the light, his whole body trembling, "W-What the hell is happening now?!"

"STAR! RUNNER!" roared from the orb as Xtreme's base form leapt down from the orb to the floor, "BLADE! KICKER! BLAST DIVER!" roared the orb once more as Xtreme's sword and gun forms joined Star Runner. "XTREME!" Out came Ultimate, punching his palm with his fist as he and the other forms stared down Vainglory. "STAR! YUKI! ZOLTAN!" Announced the orb as, with a flurry of ice, descended the two forms Alex made with Shiore. "RYU-O! MEMORY CHARGE! YUKI! MEMORY CHARGE! ROCK! MEMORY CHARGE! GALE! MEMORY CHARGE!" Yelled the orb as four variations of Ultimate Xtreme came down, each wielding a different elemental form. "UNITED! XTREME!" yelled the orb once more as United Ultimate Xtreme flew down.

The riders and Kat stared at all the forms of Xtreme that stood in front of them, Alex stepping forward to join them. "VAINGLORY!" Cried Alex as he and his other forms switched their memories to their appropriate maximum drive position, "YOUR RAMPAGE ENDS HERE!"

"STAR! MAXIMUM DRIVE! BLADE! MAXIMUM DRIVE! BLAST! MAXIMUM DRIVE! XTREME MAXIMUM DRIVE! GALE! MAXIMUM DRIVE! ROCK! MAXIMUM DRIVE! YUKI! MAXIMUM DRIVE! RYU-O! MAXIMUM DRIVE!" cried out all of Alex's forms in unison, Madison rushing up and slamming her own memory into her gun, "AURORA! MAXIMUM DRIVE!" her own memory joined in.

After only a second to charge, Madison, Blast Diver and Zoltan fired off a massive blaster shot each at Vainglory while Alex and all his other forms leapt into the air into a combined rider kick. "FINAL MEMORY STORM!" Alex cried out, the three shots from Madison, Blast Diver and Zoltan combining into one as Alex in his Maximum form kicked it into Vainglory as the other kicks connected.

As each attack hit him, Vainglory felt the pain of a thousand explosions shoot out from him as cracks began to form in his driver and memory. "Alice…" he gritted his teeth and snarled, "why?!" He said before letting out a roar of agony as his memory and dopant form exploded to bits.

As the smoke cleared, Alex and his other forms leapt back and landed just in front of Kat and the other riders. Alex breathed heavily as his other forms turned to him, tilting their heads to him. Alex nodded, each form turning on their heels before taking off and phasing through the walls and ceiling of Vainglory's lair.

"Alex…" Madison panted as she came up to him, powering down and reverting to her civilian form, "where are they going?"

"Where they need to be," Alex told her, movement in the corner of his eye catching his attention. He turned to see his own Star Runner form staring back at him, then went up to hug it before shutting off his own driver.

The moment he did, both his own maximum form and the star runner form he held scattered into small specs of light leaving Alex standing in his civilian form hugging a blonde haired girl in a simple white dress. The girl hugging him back and leaning on him, as her own legs could no longer be used to support herself.

Cole, Madison, Tara and Ashley gasped, their eyes shaking as they could not believe what they were now looking at. Carter, Shiore and Kat simply stood back, choosing to remain silent as Ashley stepped forward.

"Alex…" Madison asked with a tremor in her voice, tears forming in her eyes, "is that… who I think it is?"

Alex nodded, "Welcome back… Sarah…"

A grin formed on the girl's face as she held onto Alex, "Glad to be back."

Far across town in the ruins of Crave's bar, the image of Alex's Blast Diver form touched down amidst the ashes and scanned the area. Taking in a deep breath, the image raised his hands as a pair of white orbs left his body and touched down on the floor. The grew outward and expanded into a young boy and girl. The pair lay lifeless for a moment then gasped with a sudden breath as life flood into them.

Their eyes shot open, the pair looking to each other. "Glaive?" asked the girl. "Harpy?" asked the boy. Without another word, the pair sat up and threw their arms around one another as tears began to flow out from their eyes.

"You've been given a second chance," called Blast Diver, who pointed a finger at them as they looked to him, "don't waste it." He said before disappearing.

In front of Ardent Tower, a sewer grate opened up as an older man and woman climbed out in a daze. "Isaac… what the hell just happened?" the woman asked, rubbing her eyes as she looked up into the night sky.

"I don't know Maria…" he asked as he began to shiver, "geez, just how long were we down there for?"

"THERE YOU TWO ARE!" barked a tall man with slicked back hair and electric yellow eyes as he stormed up to the sewer grate. "I can't find Anton anywhere!" he told them, placing his hands on his hips as he glared at the husband and wife in the open manhole, "Whatever those damn riders did, they're gonna-"

He was silenced by a sudden slap from a man about half his height, who gripped a sheathed rapier in his arm, "Elisir, use your eyes for a moment." he told him, pointing out to the street as orbs of light began to touch down on the ground that turning into people moments after landing.

Elisir's whole body began to shake, taking a step back towards his colleagues that stood behind him. "Am I.. the only one seeing this shit?" He looked over his shoulder, then gasped when he saw Alex's Star Yuki form and Zoltan standing only inches away from the group.

The pair of riders pointed their fingers at Isaac, Maria, Elisir and the rapier wielding man named Drake. "Don't waste it," they said before breaking apart into small balls of light and flying up into the air.

Drake looked to his sword then swung it over his shoulder as he walked away from his three comrades. "Hey!" Elisir barked at the swordsman as he walked off, "Where the hell are you going?!"

"Doing what they said," Drake said as he continued to walk away, tightening his grasp on his sword, "I have a score to settle with that dragon boy, so I won't waste a moment I have until I can fight him again. As a warrior I respect, not a pest I despise."

Elisir sucked his teeth, swatting his hand at the air in Drake's direction, "Ah! Who the hell needs him anyway?" he looked to the married couple who were climbing out from the manwhole and dusting themselves off, "Right guys?!... Guys?"

Maria cupped Isaac's left cheek then placed a kiss on his right, "Isaac, sweetie… let's take a holiday. Alright?"

Isaac grinned, "Sounds like a plan." He said before scooping her up into his arms as he walked off into the night with her.

Elisir stood there, snow falling down over him as the wail of police sirens began to echo in the distance. Elisir sucked his teeth once again, "Damn, looks like I gotta lay low for awhile." He said, climbing into the open manhole and closing it overtop of him.

On a bridge by the waterfront, Alex's Ultimate Yuki form flew touched down and held his hand out. An orb flew out from the palm of his hand leaving a young japanese boy with glasses and a sketchbook perched by the side rail before taking off and flying towards the horizon.

With a wince, the boy woke up and held his head. "What the hell?" he muttered, getting up only for his sketchbook to fall from his grasp and land on the floor. A car rushed by, resulting in the book flipping to a page with a blue angel drawn onto it with a witch and a large twenty eyed lizard by its side. The boy's heart skipped a beat, then a smile came to his face as he picked up the book and looked out to the horizon,

"Maybe it's time to start over.." the boy muttered as he gripped his sketch book tight, "right girls?"

From the sky on the other side of the city, Alex's Ultimate Ryu-O form flew above an alleyway and dropped off a single orb as he flew by. The orb touched the ground and turned into a scrawny blond haired man who, upon re-entering the world, curled up into a ball and covered himself from the cold.

Watching this from their own point in the sky, Alex's Ultimate Rock and Gale forms flew side by side with one another dropping off orb after orb that each restored a life to the city causing the entire sky line to light up. This light could be seen from the window of a prison where Zix sat glaring out the window, watching Xtreme's forms fly by when a knock came to the bars of her sell.

"Major," called out a familiar voice that sounded far too young to be an officer, "you have a new cell mate."

"I don't want any new cell mates," she huffed, turning to face whoever was at the bars only to gasp when she saw a buff man with short blue hair standing in front of her already in the cell. "M-Mikey…?" she questioned, a tear coming to her eye, "but how?" Before another word could be spoken by the two, Zix's gaze was caught by Alex's Blade Kicker form that stood just beyond the bars.

"Don't waste your life," Blade Kicker told them both, pointing a finger at the siblings before disappearing from sight.

"Hey sis…." Mikey grinned at her nervously, then waved at her as she got up and stumbled towards him, "its my fault you're locked up in here, ain't it?"

"Mikey…" muttered Zix as she threw her arms around her younger brother, "just shut it for a while."

Mikey gulped, then hugged his sister back, "Yes, ma'am."

Back at META HQ, Sampson and Marcoh ran along the hallway just outside Vainglory's lair with a squad of SWAT troopers just behind them. Their gaze remained fixed on the hall in front of them just as the city began to light up bringing the entire troop to a halt.

"Chief.." Marcoh asked, "what's going on out there?"

Sampson narrowed his gaze down the hallway, then kept on moving. "Only one way to find out." He said, the other troops continuing to follow him.

The officers ran down the hall until they came to the blown out doors that lead into Vainglory's lair.

"Wait here," Marcoh told the officers, he and Sampson raising their guns as they headed inside.

Once inside, the pair breathed a sigh of relief as they saw the riders and Kat in their civilian forms starring with grins on their faces as they looked towards Alex in the center of the room.

"Finally, a happy ending," said Sampson as he walked up to Alex and placed a firm hand on the boy's shoulder. "You've done good son." He then looked to the girl he held, his eyes shooting open when he realized who it was, "Ms Gardner?.. But, how?"

"It's a long story dad," Alex told him, "I'll explain later."

Sampson nodded, looking to Sarah in Alex's arms, "Well Ms Gardner, can you walk?"

Sarah shook her head, "Afraid not."

"Alright," Sampson held his arms out, "I'll carry you out then-"

"I will," Ashley cut in, raising her hand as she stepped forward. Sarah gasped in surprise, beginning to choke as she met Ashley's gaze, "if you'd let me.. sir."

Sampson nodded, "Well… alright then." He stepped to the side allowing Ashley to come up to Alex and take Sarah from him.

"Easy does it," Alex said as he helped Sarah onto Ashley's back.

As this happened, Madison stood looking at Jason as he lay there on the floor. "So um…" she poked him with her foot, "what do we do about this guy?"

Suddenly, Jason's eyes shot open and glared directly at Madison. He swatted a weak hand at her, Madison jumping back with her fists raised as he climbed back up to his feet.

"You… you stupid! Selfish bastard BRAT!" Jason roared, balling his fists before charging at Alex and grabbing him by the collar before pinning him to a still standing pillar.

The riders and Kat gripped their gaia memories, Marcoh and Sampson raising their guns at Jason as he slammed Alex repeatedly into the pillar.

"I HAD HER!" Jason continued to roar, tears beginning to roll down his face with each thrashing of Alex, "WHAT DID YOU DO?!"

Alex grabbed Jason by the arm and looked him in the eye with a stern gaze, "What was right…" he told him, "I used the gate to gain the power to defeat you, and bring back every life you and your group cut short."

"Is that so," Jason grinned, "then where is my Alice? Her life was also cut short!

"She wasn't there," Alex told him, "she lived a full life, and you had nothing to do with it."

Jason snarled, raising his fist to strike Alex, "LIAR!" Before Jason could so much as touch Alex, that loud bang of a gun shot filled the room which froze Jason in place. Feeling the warm flow of blood run down his head, he turned to face Sampson who stood glaring at him with a smoking gun pointed at Jason.

Dazed by the shot, Jason stumbled back and stared at Sampson only for the officer to fire another shot into Jason's shoulder then another into his side. With each shot, Jason was sent back a step but was not taken off his feet. He instead remained standing in place only to stumble forward once the firing had halted, grabbing onto Sampson as he felt his legs give out.

"Why?..." He muttered as he gripped onto the officer's coat, You loved her too... didn't you?"

Sampson glared at the man at his feet then grabbed him by the collar. With a heavy breath, Sampson hoisted Jason to his feet before shoving his gun right in the bleeding man's face. He snarled as his finger pulling back bit by bit, all present eyes watching in silence as Sampson's blood came to a boil.

"Sampson!" A female voice called from the door, the chief of police, Jason and Alex turning to face it due to it sounding familiar. "Give him to me please."

The two men and Alex looked to door, seeing a woman with brown hair standing in the light with her arm held out and tears in her eyes, "Mom?" Muttered Alex.

"Alice," Grinned Jason, shoving himself away from Samspon before bolting towards the woman at the door and falling to his knees. "Alice.." he sighed in relief, hugging her legs as his blood stained himself, the dress of the woman he held and even the floor, "finally… you are mine."

Alex watched as the woman placed her hand on Jason's head, the boy taking only a single step forward before being grabbed by the shoulder by Sampson. Alex looked back to his father, who stared back at him and shook his head.

"My precious little flower," cooed the woman as Jason clung to her, "you came so close."

"I know my love… I know…" Jason sniffled, "if I had the power to do so, I'd kill all those riders right now."

"Then what if I told you…" The woman held out a single purple gaia memory mark with an M, "you still do?"

Jason gasped, shooting to his feet and kissing the woman in front of him as he swiped the memory from her. "Thank you, my love." He said, turning to face the riders again as he began to laugh uncontrollably.

"Don't thank me.." smirked the woman as her eyes shifted to a piercing yellow, her skin becoming a pale blue, "yet."

"MORGOTH!" roared the gaia memory in a demonic voice as Jason stuck it into his skin. Dark energy began to swirl around him, his laughter continuing until he felt a sharp pain in his arm.

"What… what's going on?!" He gasped, dropping to his knees as a second jolt of pain shot out from his arm.

His bones began to shift, bend, break and reform as from his human skin ripped out the massive claw of a demon causing Jason to tremble as fangs ripped out from his jaws.

"ALICE!" He whipped his head around to see only a blue raven haired succubus standing behind him with a smirk on her face. "Desire…" he said as he felt his heart sink, "you lied to me.."

"Don't be a fool," she cooed as she cupped Jason's ever changing face as his eyes became blood red and devoid of visible pupils, "I gave you exactly what you wanted, my precious little Morgoth."

Jason snarled, raising his claw to swipe at her only for Desire to make him vanish with a simple snap of her finger. She let out a content sigh.

"As a husband, a father and a dopant you were a failure," she spoke to herself as she stared at her amber ring that now had violet hue to it, "but as a gate keeper, you might have some use." She lowered her hand, then turned to the officers, Kat and the riders, "Consider yourselves fortunate our goals had us meet on common ground this night," she bowed to them, "but should we meet again, I cannot guarantee the odds will be in your favor."

With that, she turned to leave and made her way out. Before she cleared the door however, Kat stepped forward while glaring at Desire.

"WAIT JUST A MINUTE!" She barked at the succubus, Desire stopping the moment she heard Kat's called, "WE HAD A DEAL!"

Only turning her head to look over her shoulder, Desire shot a glare at Kat with a single raised brow, "I agreed to alter you further when you had broken the riders apart, but you chose instead to hop into their bed." She said as she turned her head back and continuing to walk out, "consider our deal revoked."

Kat gritted her teeth, gripping her gaia memory and striking its activation button, "GORGE!"

"LIKE HELL IT IS!" She roared, slamming her memory into her driver and reactivating her dopant form. With a powerful kick off the ground, she darted claws raised at Desire.

Desire stopped, allowing Kat to came closer and closer and her claws were at the demon's back. Just as Kat's claws were about to carve into her skin, Desire raised a single finger to Kat's forward which froze her in place.

Kat gasped, attempting to get her body to move only to find that she couldn't. "Pathetic," Desire muttered under her breath, not moving a muscle as Kat was sent flying backwards onto the floor. Upon hitting the floor, Kat's transformation was reversed and reverted to her civilian form.

"KAT!" Tara and Cole cried out as they rushed to her side, the entire group glaring at Desire.

"You forget that I am a god, child," as she continued to make her way out, "it will take more than that to destroy me."

Once Desire was gone, Kat slammed her fist into the ground, "Dammit!" She trembled, "That evil witch…"

"Kat…" Tara muttered as she held her close.

"its going to be okay," Cole said, placing a firm yet comforting hand on Kat's shoulder.

Kat wiped her eyes, "How do you know?"

"Because," Alex cut in, stepping forward and looked down to meet Kat's gaze, "should Desire ever show her face again, we'll be there. And we'll be ready."

Some time later, Sarah was being loaded by Ashley into the back of an ambulance that was sitting in the snow outside META HQ. Once she was placed in the back, a paramedic sat her up and began checking her over.

"Is this.. really needed?" She asked Marcoh who stood just over Ashley's shoulder while the paramedic checked her pulse and other vitals, "I feel fine."

"Sorry, but we need to make sure," Marcoh told her, "it's not everyday someone comes back from the dead you know."

"Fair," she managed a laugh and a grin only for it to fade when she made eye contact with Ashley. "Hey Ash…" she gulped, hanging her head in shame, "I'm sorry for the way I treated you."

Ash gasped slightly, then a grin came to her face, "Hey now, you don't need to apologize," she held her hands up, "I'm kind of already past it to be honest."

Sarah blushed, managing to look back up at Ashley. "Then maybe… the two of us could.." she scratched the back of her head as a slight grin came to her face, "try again?"

Ashley's eyes shot wide open, the grin on her face being struck from her face as she felt her heart plummet to the bottom of her stomach.

"Sarah… you were gone a long time," she spoke finally, grabbing her one arm with the other. "I've had some time to myself to think, and it will still be awhile before I truly forgive you… if I ever do… Besides, I met someone earlier today, and I like her a lot."

"Oh… I see…" Sarah's heart sank as well, her hands balling into fists as he gaze fell to the floor, "I'm sorry… I'll… I'll leave you alone them.. I'm sorry."

"Hey dumbass, I wasn't done yet," Ashley glared at her, placing her closed fist at the top of Sarah's head.

Sarah scowled, keeping her head down, "What else could you possibly have to say? You've made your point."

"Well I was going to say," Ash raised her hand then opened it before presenting it to the girl in front of her, "maybe you and I could just try being friends again?"

Sarah's eyes widened, feeling her heart lighten as she looked up to once again meet Ashley's gaze. She nodded, regaining her smile, "I… I would like that."

Just outside the entrance to META HQ, Shiore stood beside Alex, Carter and Madison with her eyes locked on Ashley and Sarah.

"Must be nice, having someone so close to you be returned…" Shiore said with a heavy sigh, crossing her arms, "with my luck though, it will never happen."

Carter placed his hand on Shiore's waist, pulling her close but unsure of what to say. Madison meanwhile exchanged a glance with Alex as she took hold of his hand, Alex catching a glimpse of movement in the corner of his eye.

Turning his head, he saw the image of his Ultimate Yuki form staring back at him. Alex raised a brow at the image, the image nodding back before fading away into the night.

A grin came to Alex's face, "I wouldn't be so sure about that."

Madison, Carter and Shiore all looked to the male rider. "Alex…" Carter asked, "what did you do?"

Alex looked to Shiore with a grin, Shiore staring at him. Before either of them could say a word, Shiore's phone erupted with a ring from within her pocket.

Shiore quickly reached into her pocket and fished it out, freezing when she saw the caller ID reading 'Big Brother' in japanese. She stood there, allowing the phone to ring until Carter hit the pickup button. Shiore then brought the phone to her ear.

She breathed heavily, her heart swelling up as she managed to mutter a single, "Hello?"

"Shiore?!" Her brother's voice echoed out from the phone, "Where are you?! Mother and father have the whole clan out looking for you!"

"Satoshi…" smiled Shiore, closing her eyes as tears began to form in the corners of them, "I'm alright, but what happened is a bit of a long story. Have mother call Tanaka, he'll explain everything."

As this happened, Madison and Alex watched from the side with smiles on their faces. Sampson then came up, Alex looking to the chief of police.

"Dad…" Alex asked him quietly, "do you think I did okay?"

Sampson grinned at him, placing one hand on Alex's shoulder and another on Madison's as the trio looked back to Shiore, "I think that's for you to decide."

{End of Part A}

{Start of Part B}

**SIX MONTHS LATER**

The cold winter came and went, and on a hot day in April a blue car drove down a busy city street. From the front passenger seat, Sarah stared out the window watching the cars roll by.

"So… my physical therapist says I could be walking again within the next year or two," she said as she glanced over to Ashley in the driver's seat next to her, "she's even looking at athletic programs for me once I'm all patched up."

"That's good to hear," Ashley returned, keeping her eyes on the road in front of her hand her hands on the wheel, "of course you wouldn't need patching up if Alex hadn't f'd up."

Sarah looked at her and raised a brow, a small bit of laughter escaping her lips, "Okay, I'm all for throwing shade on that poor boy. But how exactly did Alex f up?"

"The boy multiplies himself, beats up Vainglory while all high and mighty, then brings you and several other hundreds of people back from the dead with his god mod gaia memories," Ashley rambled, flaring her hand up in the air before looking Sarah in the eye and raising a brow of her own, "and you're telling me he couldn't have made you able to walk while he was up there?"

"Oh, he probably could have," Sarah smirked, "but what if I told you I don't particularly mind?"

"I'd ask you to explain your damn self," Ashley said as she looked back to the road and kept driving, "and demand the name of who hit you over the head."

"Well no one hit me, first and foremost," Sarah said as she began to blush, "and… I met someone who I wouldn't have otherwise."

"She the one who took you out for lobster?" Ashley asked.

Sarah blinked, blushing harder, "How did-"

"I can smell it on your breath," Ash smirked, "so, who are they? Do I know her?"

"Probably not the best idea to say," Sarah told her.

"Okay," let out an agitated huff, "then you could describe."

"Long red hair…" Sarah said, letting out a content sigh, "and a surprising amount of upper body strength."

"Wow, you have a type," Ashley laughed, "that sounds just like Madison."

"And also…" Sarah looked to Ashley, biting her lip, "my physical therapist."

Ashley's eyes shot open, slamming her foot on the brake before looking Sarah dead in the eye, "Shut the fuck up! You're joking, right?!" Sarah grinned while shaking her head resulting in Ashley letting out a gasp, "You're trash!"

"Says the girl who slept with Alex," Sarah looked at her, "five times."

Ashley just stared at her. "Oh, that's low," she said as she kept on driving. It was only a few minutes later that they had reached the police station, Ashley pulling up to the curb and stopping her car.

"Well, here we are," Sarah let out a heavy sigh as she opened the door and looked out to the station before her. "Thanks for the ride."

"Anytime," nodded Ashley as she got out of the car, grabbed Sarah's wheelchair from the backseat and folded it open before placing it on the ground. "You sure you don't want me to go in there with you?" She asked as she helped her friend into the chair.

Sarah shook her head, grabbing the wheels of her chair, "I'll be fine." She looked at Ash with a grin, "besides, don't you have a flight to catch?"

"Alright, if you're sure," Ashley said as she hugged her, a smile coming to her face as she let out a content sigh, "I'll give you a call when I get land in Seattle."

"You better," smiled Sarah as she hugged Ashley back, "and tell that Kayla girl I say hi… and to not take you for granted like I did."

Ashley nodded, "I will." She hugged her tight for one second more then, with a wave to Sarah on the curb, got back into her car.

As she drove away, she stared in the rear view mirror at Sarah as she grew smaller and smaller. Once Sarah had disappeared from view, Ashley turned her gaze from the mirror to the road in front of her.

A smirk appeared on her face as she pressed down on the gas, "Here I come Kaylaphant."

Back on the curb, Sarah rolled herself into the station only to stop when she saw Kat sitting at the front desk in a police uniform. Kat stared down at a book in front of her, jotting things down into a notebook with a grin on her face while she hummed a tune.

"Oh, it's you," Sarah blinked, "Kat Swindler, right?"

"Thats my name, for the time being," Kat glanced up at her, a smirk coming to her face as she held up her hand which had a pair of rings on one of her fingers. "Might be changing it soon though, since this girl just got engaged last week."

"Cole and Tara proposed to you?" Sarah's eyes widened as she rolled up to the desk, "damn, they must really wanna keep you."

"Well, Cole proposed to Tara and I, then I proposed to Tara," Kat corrected Sarah with a shrug, "but yeah, it looks like they like me."

"Yeah…" Sarah stared at Kat, "I'm sorry but, can you remind me again where you came into the picture?"

Kat blinked, her smirk fading into a look of confusion as she looked at Sarah, "Say what now?"

"Our friends," Sarah confirmed, "how do you know them?"

"Cole is my boyfriend and Tara my girlfriend," Kat blinked, "well, they're my fiances now." She snapped her fingers, "Oh! That reminds me, do you know of a good contraction of Desmond Archer and Swindler? Adding all three to the end of my name just doesn't scan."

"Where and when did you meet them?!" Sarah yelled, blinking for a moment only blush and cover her mouth a moment later.

Kat stared at her, blinking her eyes for a moment, "Ooooh! I know what you mean now." She regained her grin, "I ran away from home when I was about six, wandered the street for a year then got turned into a cat. That's when I met Tara and fell in love with her cause of the belly rubs she gave me," her grin widened as she began to blush, "and Cole is just a sweetheart," she cupped her cheeks with both her hands, "I couldn't help but fall for him the moment I saw him."

Sarah fell silent with her eyes wide open as she stared with a blank expression on her face. The awkward tension in the eye hung in the air for a moment, only to be broken by Sampson and Marcoh coming into the front lobby via a door just beside the desk Kat sat at.

"Oh, there you are Ms Gardner," Sampson managed a smile at her, looking over to the girl behind the desk. "Kat, you can clock out now if you'd like."

"Yes chief," Kat saluted Sampson, grabbing a small backpack and beginning to shovel her books into it.

Sarah looked to Marcoh with a more serious expression on her face than before, "Is he here?"

Marcoh nodded, meeting Sarah's gaze, "You sure you're ready?"

Sarah nodded herself, her hanging falling a bit as her eyes drifted to the ground, "I've put it off long enough…" she muttered, gripping the wheels of her chair. "No matter what he's done, he's still my brother."

"Let's not keep him waiting then," Marcoh let out a sigh, going behind Sarah and grabbing the handles of her wheelchair.

"Wait," she spoke suddenly, turning her gaze to the girl who was packing her stuff away, "Kat?"

"Yes?" Kat looked up to her, raising a brow at Sarah while having her arm halfway in her bag.

"What about Arcdesmindler?" Sarah suggested.

"Arcdesmindler?" Kat questioned.

Sarah nodded, "Arc from Archer, des from Desmond and indler from Swindler."

"Arcdesmindler…" Kat repeated once more to herself then grinned, "It's perfect, thank you."

"You're welcome," Sarah smiled back at her. He grinned faded however as she took in a deep breath and stared at the door Marcoh and Sampson came out of. "Okay.. I'm ready," she breathed out only after Sampson had opened it again and Marcoh wheeled her through it and into a long hallway.

Wheeling her down the hall, Marcoh and Sampson soon brought Sarah to a large bay window that looked into a clean white room with only a steel table inside it. At the table, on a matching steel chair sat Sarah's older brother Vince. His hands were cuffed to the table, the cut up man staring at his hands and Sarah looked him in the eye.

"He can't see us… right?" Sarah managed to speak with a choke to her voice.

Marcoh shook his head, "One way mirror."

"Does he know?" Sarah asked, "that I'm alive?"

Sampson shook his head, "We figured he wouldn't believe us, unless we showed you to him."

Sarah stared at Vince on the other side of the mirror, then after a moment of silence nodded her head, "Then do it… take me in."

Marcoh and Sampson exchanged a glance, Sampson pulling out his keys and unlocking the door while Marcoh pulled out a stun gun from his belt and placed his finger just off the trigger.

Sampson opened the door, "Vince," he greeted the man as he walked in, "you have a visitor."

Vince glared at the officer. "A visitor?" He sucked his teeth before looking away from Sampson, "who the hell would come to visit me of all people?"

"Hi Vince…" Sarah's voice called out to him. Vince gasped, his entire body shaking as he looked up to see his sister rolling into the room with Sampson and Marcoh right behind her. She sniffled a bit, "Been a while… hasn't it?" She said with tears in her eyes and a grin on her face.

Vince stared at her for a moment as his heart swelled, only to glare at her moments later. "What game are you trying to pull now, witch?" He snarled at her.

"Vince…" Sarah's heart sank, "its me.. don't you believe me?"

Vince stared down at the table in front of him, his hands balling into fists as he began to shake all over. Suddenly, he shot out from his seat, breaking the chains that pinned him to the table as he darted over to Sarah.

A loud metal crash filled the room, the table and Sarah's wheelchair hitting the floor as Vince grabbed her by the throat and pinned her to the wall.

"You evil witch!" He glared at Sarah, tightening his grasp on her as Marcoh and Sampson aimed their stun guns at him, "You think you can toy with me again? I know what you are, I know how you dangle people's desires in front of them! Only to stab them in the back later!"

"Vince!" Barked Marcoh, "Let her go!"

"Oh.. I see.. she has you two enthralled as well." Vince laughed, Sarah gasping for air as her brother's grasp grew tighter and tighter around her throat, "Know this, this demon used me! All I wanted was to avenge my sister, by ending her killer! And this demon who has you fooled lead me along, then robbed me of my sister's justice!"

As Sarah gasped for air, she reached out and cupped her brother's hand. "Vince… stop it…" she whimpered, a tear running down her cheek and hitting his hand, "please… stop it…"

Suddenly, Vince's grasp around Sarah's throat loosened as his gaze softened, "Sarah…?" He muttered in disbelief.

"Marcoh, and Sampson… They told me what you did," Sarah told him, "how you became Crave to kill Alex, and that's all you wanted.. But, did it ever occur to you to stop and think about what I wanted?"

Vince's lip quivered, Sampson sitting up Sarah's chair as Vince lowered her into it. "Well… I'm listening now…" he spoke, placing his hands on Sarah's shoulders, "what is it... that you want?"

Sarah looked him in the eye, "Right now… all I want, "she reached out and took Vince's hand, "is to have my brother back."

In the kitchen of a prison on the other side of the city, Rylee loaded food onto a trey as she stood behind a counter in a grey jumpsuit with a white apron over top of it and a hair net on her head. Zix stood beside her in the same attire.

"So," Zix whispered to Rylee as she passed her a trey, Rylee sending her own down the line, " Warden says my and Mikey's sentences might get chopped if we keep up our behavior. Getting out in three years compared to eight is nothing to sneeze at."

"Oh?" Rylee looked to Zix with a raised brow and a grin on her face, "Then what's your plan for when the two of you get out?"

"Not sure what Mikey's doing, but I'm thinking of seeing the world," Zix glanced to Rylee, snickering a bit. "Well, at least the parts of it that will welcome a formerly convicted felon."

"That might prove troublesome," Rylee laughed a bit herself as the two went about their work.

"You're welcome to come along," Zix offered, "you could even bring those kids of yours if you'd like."

Rylee was about to respond, only to be struck silence when a silver winged moth flew down and landed on her finger. Her heart ached as she stared at it, then smiled as she brushed it off her finger.

"I'll think about it," she finally said, watching the moth fly away.

"Speaking of your kids," Zix spoke, narrowing her gaze at Rylee "it was your son Carter that did it, wasn't it?"

Rylee shook her head, leaning over and whispering into Zix's ear, "Alex, my sister's son… he's the one responsible."

Zix took in a deep breath, recalling the image of Black Kicker on the other side of the bars from the night Mikey was returned to her. She breathed out, a grin coming to her face as she wiped a tear from her eye, "Then remind me that I gotta thank him when I get outta here."

Rylee managed a laugh. "I'll hold you to it," she said as the two went back to their work, "don't you worry."

"What are your kids doing, if you don't mind me asking," Zix changed the subject, "didn't you say one of them got engaged?"

"They both are now, actually," Rylee told her, her grin widening significantly.

"Huh, where does the time go?" returned Zix. "Other than that though, what are they up to?"

"Tara I think is working her tail off for now," Said Rylee, "Carter on the other hand…"

The silver winged moth flew up into the sky from the prison, coming down and resting on the porch of the newly rebuilt Shirayuki house in Japan. In the currently open living room, a chime rang in the breeze as Shiore, Tanaka, Otoya and Satoshi sat off to the side of the room looking at Carter who knelt on his knees before Shion. The family's head mistress lay against a pile of soft pillows in her usual loosely fitted kimono, her hair done up in an over the shoulder braid.

With Carter's eyes upon her, she didn't even meet his gaze as she took in a deep puff from her pipe than released a cloud of smoke from her lips. "So…allow to me to see if I have this right," she spoke finally, dusting out her pipe into an ashtray, "after invading my home, burning it and my family to the ground, you now have the nerve to come to me and ask for the horror of marrying my only daughter?" she shot a glare to him, "Is that what you are saying?"

"Mother, I told you already," Shiore spoke up, "it was not entirely his-"

"Shiore," Shion cut her off, not looking her daughter in the eye, "do you truly wish to be with this man?"

Shiore nodded, "I do."

"Then I trust you will do him the honor of speaking for himself," Shion kept her gaze on Carter. "So tell me boy, what make you believe you are worthy of my daughter?"

"Actually… to tell you the truth…" Carter hung his head, bowing to Shion, "I don't believe I am." Shiore gasped, Tanaka, Otoya and Satoshi following suit as Shion's gaze sharpened on Carter.

"Interesting…" Shion raised a brow, standing up and marching slowly over to where the boy knelt before her, "then why ask for her hand?"

"Because I love her.." Carter told her, keeping his head down, "and even though it wasn't my choice, I'm going to do everything I can to make up for what I did."

"I see…" Shion said, "stand up boy." Without a word, Carter rose to his feet and looked Shion in the eye. "If you love my Shiore as much as you claim to," Shion continued, giving him a stern look in the eye, "do you promise to continue to love her, until your dying breath?"

"Yes," he nodded, "I swear."

Shion's gaze softened, her cold scowl turning to a warm smile as she wrapped her arms around him and pulled him into a very close hug. "Then welcome to the Shirayuki family," Shion told him with a gentle pat on the top of his head, "Carter Damon."

Carter felt his heart swell, sharply swallowing as he wrapped his own arms around Shion. Closing his eyes, a single tear ran down his cheek as he managed a simply nod.

"Thank you," he muttered.

On the porch, the silver moth watched as the events before it unfolded. With a single beat of its wings, it vanished as if it was never there.

Back at the police station, Sampson and Marcoh watched Sarah and Vince from behind the one way mirror. The siblings were now simply talking, as if all that happened around them was nothing more than a bad dream.

"They seem to be getting back to some sense of normal," Sampson smiled as he watched the siblings, glancing over to Marcoh while resting his arm on the frame of the mirror, "wouldn't you say chief?"

This statement gave Marcoh pause, only for him to raise a brow and glance over to Sampson, "Who are you calling chief?"

"You, of course," Sampson told Marcoh, removing his badge and holding it out to the other officer, "with things being wrapped up, I think it's finally time I retire before I become a statistic."

Marcoh stared at the badge before shifting his gaze up to look Sampson in the eye, "Gordon… shouldn't you be having this conversation with your son?"

"I already did," Sampson said as he placed the badge in Marcoh's hand, "besides I-"

Suddenly, Marcoh grabbed Sampson by the wrist, the badge falling to the floor with a gasp from Sampson as the two officer's looked each other in the eye.

"Gordon, I know when you're lying," Marcoh told him as he picked the badge up and handed it back to Marcoh, "talk with Alex, THEN I will accept this from you." He narrowed his gaze at Sampson, "Got it?"

Silence overtook Sampson, closing his hand around Marcoh as he managed a nod, "Alright…" he muttered, "I will."

"Tell him by the end of the day," Marcoh said as he walked away from Sampson, heading down the hall to the lobby, "or I will."

Marcoh opened the door to the lobby, stepping through it before slamming it shut. Now alone in the hall, he looked down at his closed fist. Opening his hand, he stared at the badge in his hand.

A little while later, Marcoh was driving his car down the road with Kat in the passenger seat beside him. Coming to a red light, Kat stared out her window to the side walk. Her eyes eventually fell upon a woman sitting outside a restaurant beside a baby in a stroller. The baby squirmed, crying a bit as they shuffled around to avoid a wet wipe that their mother was using to get the last bit of sauce that was on their face. As Kat watched this, she placed a single hand on her stomach as her heart sank a bit.

The light turned green and the car started to move again, Kat watching the mother and child drift out of her sight. Once she could no longer see the mother and child, Kat allowed her hand to fall to her side as she let out a small sigh.

"So, there's this Julian guy who keeps calling the home line for you," she spoke, looking to Marcoh with a smirk, "who is he?"

Marcoh glanced at her, "Just someone I'm seeing. Why do you ask?"

"Cause, I'm a nosey bitch," Kat snickered a little, "you getting serious with him?"

"Maybe, I'm not sure," Marcoh said as he looked back to the road. "What's new in the world of Kat Swindler?"

"Kat Arcdesmindler," Kat corrected Marcoh, pointed a finger at him, "it's Kat Arcdesmindler now."

Marcoh stared at her, "That doesn't exactly roll off the tongue."

"Yeah, well Sarah came up with it," she told him, crossing her arms, "and I happen to like it. So I'm gonna pitch it to Tara and Cole and see what they think."

Marcoh smirked and patted her on the head with a laugh, "Well so long as you're happy, I don't have a problem with what you do." Moments later, he pulled up to the Kat's Eye and brought the car to a halt, "Well here we are."

"Thanks Dad," Kat smiled, hugging Marcoh as she grabbed her bag and hopped out of the car.

Inside the cafe, Tara sat in her uniform at a table next to Cole with her yellow ears by her side and her gaze down at her hands on the table. "So everyone came back…" Tara muttered to Cole, "but, why didn't…"

"Alex said he couldn't bring his mom back because she lived a full life," Cole spoke softly as he took hold of Tara's hand, "maybe it was the same for Inertia?"

"I thought that too," Tara wiped her eyes, "but, Vainglory was still around… so what could have-"

"Made Inertia so content?" Cole finished her sentence, cupping her cheek. "I think Tara, it was knowing you and Carter would be okay."

"I… I guess you might be right about that," Tara muttered, falling into Cole's arms. "Still," she spoke again as Cole wrapped his arms around her, "I wish I had gotten to know him, just a bit better."

"I know Tara…" Cole said gently as he held her, "I know."

Just for a moment, Cole spotted a silver winged moth on Tara's shoulder. Cole wasn't able to get a good look at it, however, because the moment the door opened at the front of the cafe, it vanished. With the chime from the door ringing as it opened and closed, Kat entered the cafe and looked around for Cole and Tara. She grinned ear to ear when she spotted them, then skipped over to them.

"Hey there my darlings," Kat sang as she sat down, pulling up to them, "hope I'm not interrupting a moment here."

Cole looked to her with a grin, Tara wiping her eyes and forcing a grin, "Nope, we were just talking." Tara told Kat as she looked to her girlfriend.

"I see," Kat returned, leaning forward to kiss Cole and Tara on the cheek before sitting back down, "does it have anything to do with what you called me here today for?"

"Not exactly," Cole told her, looking to Tara, "though now that you mention it." He wrapped his arm around Tara, "Do you want to tell her? Or should I?"

With a grin while meeting Cole's gaze, Tara looked over to Kat as a sparkle came to her eye, "Kat," she felt her heart flutter out of control, "I'm pregnant."

Kat's eyes widened, feeling a wave of complex emotions run over her, "Tara…" she muttered before taking hold of her girlfriend's hands, "I'm happy for you, both of you."

"You aren't happy for yourself?" Cole asked, looking at Kat with a grin.

"Why would I be happy for myself?" Kat blinked, "it's you two that are having a kid."

"Well actually, we had some tests," Cole reached out and took hold of Kat's hand, "Tara is carrying twins, and only one of them is mine."

Kat stared at Cole, her eyes widening as she turned her head to look Tara in the eye. "Does this mean…" she said with a crack in her voice, "what I think it means?"

Tara nodded, "You're going to be a mother Kat."

Kat's heart swelled as her lower lip quivered, "Oh Tara…" she sniffled before leaning forward and throwing her arms around her girlfriend and pulling her in tight, "I love you."

Smiling ear to ear, Tara wrapped her own arms around Kat and kissed her on the top of her head, "I know Kat.. I love you too."

In Alex's apartment, Alex and Madison's father Richard were setting down boxes and pink suitcases down onto the floor. Once they were all set down and inside the one bedroom apartment Alex lived in on his own, the two men looked at each other and high fived one another to celebrate a job well done. Meanwhile, at the door, Madison stood with her mother Nicole who cupped her daughter's cheek.

"And you're sure you're going to be okay here?" Nicole asked, a noticeable tremor in her voice.

"I'm sure," Madison nodded, blushing as she looked to Alex who smiled back at her, "if I'm with Alex, I can do anything."

"Okay," Nicole hugged her daughter, "but call me if you need anything, even if you just need someone to talk to. You hear me?"

"Yes captain," Madison hugged her mother back, "I hear you."

"Alright, that's the last of the boxes," Richard said as he and Alex came up to the two women, putting his arm around Nicole and kissing her on the lips and Madison on the forehead. "We should head out if we want to beat the traffic."

"I know," Nicole nodded, shooting a glare to Alex and pointing a finger at Alex. "Be good to her, you hear me?"

Alex saluted her, "Yes ma'am."

Richard gave Madison a hug, "You be good, okay Mad Muffin?"

"Dad, you know I don't make promises I don't intend to keep," Madison giggled a bit.

"Then just don't have kids until you're thirty," Richard told her, "and use protection everytime, okay?"

Madison blushed, "DAD!"

"Oh, I'm only kidding," Richard smiled at her, looking to Nicole who was now shooting him a rage filled glare. "Half joking."

"Better," Nicole smirked before giving Madison a kiss on the forehead. "I love you, we'll be sure to visit often okay?"

"Kay," Madison nodded, waving to her parents alongside Alex who waved back to the young couple as they walked out the door and shut it behind them. Madison stepped towards the door then locked it before whipping her head around to look Alex in the eye. "Well," she smirked, "they're gone."

Alex grinned, "I can see that."

Not a second later, Madison charged at Alex. Throwing her arms around him, she nearly knocked Alex over as she locked lips with him and began kissing him like mad. Alex hugged her back, returning each of her kisses just as she planted them.

"So," Alex said between kisses, "think you'll be okay living with me?"

"Freedom my parents eagle eyes and you to myself?" Madison laughed between her own kisses, "we should've done this years ago."

Alex chuckled, "If only I knew you years ago."

This display of passion didn't last long however as a gentle knock came to the door.

"UGH!" Madison groaned, pulling herself away from Alex, "What do they want now?!"

Alex unlocked the door and opened it, blinking it when he saw Sampson standing at the door with a smile on his face.

"Dad?" he blinked, "What are you doing here?"

Sampson looked at Alex, noticing the lipstick on his son's face and the messed up hair of the two young lovers in front of him. "Oh my," he let out a hearty chuckle, covering his mouth, "is this a bad time?"

"Only slightly," Alex looked to Madison, raising a brow who nodded back as a sign it was okay to talk with his father. Alex opened the door more to allow Sampson to enter, "What's up?"

"Well, there's something I need to talk to you about," Sampson let out a heavy sigh, "would you mind coming with me for a moment?"

"Okay…" Alex looked to Madison, "you don't mind do you?"

Madison smiled then shook her head, "I need to unpack a bit and shower," she said kissing him on the cheek and patting his chest, "we'll pick up where we left off when you back."

"Alright," he kissed her on the lips, "I won't be long." He said before leaving out the door with Sampson, Madison shutting the door and locking it behind them.

Sampson lead his son out of the building and to his car that was parked outside. After a fairly long yet quiet car ride, the two came to the front gates of a cemetery as the sun began to set. Alex blinked, looking up at the gates as he got out of the car.

"Dad…" he looked to his father as Sampson came up the boy, "why did you bring me here?"

Sampson looked to the gates, placing his hand on his son's shoulder, "I figured it had been long enough.. Since we gave her a visit."

"You mean my mother," Alex asked, "right?"

Sampson nodded, he and the boy heading through the gates and into the cemetery. Passing row after row of headstones, the boy and his father coming to a stop in front of pale grey gravestone with Alice's name on it.

Alex felt his heart swell, looking at the stone as Sampson knelt to the ground in front of it. "Damn cemetery maintenance people," he laughed as he began dusting off the stone, "they never get all the damn dust off these things."

"Dad…" Alex spoke suddenly, causing Sampson to look over his shoulder and up at his son, "why did you bring me here?"

"Because Alex…" Sampson looked back to the stone, "someday soon, I'm gonna be just like your mother here." He balled up his hand as he felt his heart grow heavier. He then reached out and touched the face of the gravestone, "I'd like you, to make sure I'm buried beside your mother here."

"Dad, don't be ridiculous," Alex forced a laugh, "isn't it a bit early to be thinking about that?"

"For you maybe…" Sampson let out a sigh, his hand dropping to his side, "but not me." He looked back to his son, "I am ill Alex, and I have been for a very long time."

Alex laughed again, "Okay, now I know you're joking," he choked, turning his back to Sampson and resting his hands on a pair of stones that were once behind him. "You're one of the most capable people I know, but now I know you're a liar."

"Alex," Sampson said, rising to his feet a moment later and digging his hands into his pockets, "what reason would I have to lie?"

Alex hung his head, feeling his heart tighten like it was being put into a vice as the sting of tears began to burn his eyes. "How long," he sniffled, turning to face Sampson with red eyes as tears ran down his face, "how long have you known?"

"I was told I had three months to live…" Sampson told him, taking a step forward, "five months before I gave you that belt you wear." He shook his head at Alex, "Now, I honestly don't know how long I have left."

Alex quivered as he stared at Sampson, whimpering for a second before muttering, "Why the hell didn't you tell me sooner?" He asked as he rubbed his eyes.

"There are a lot of things I should have done sooner, but I didn't," Sampson confessed. Taking another step forward, he gently wrapped both his arms around Alex as his son began to sob into him. "But there's one thing I'm going to say, right when I need to say it." Tears began to form in the corner of Sampson's own eyes, "I'm glad I got to meet you, and I'm so very proud to call you my son…" He tightened his hold on his son, kissing him on the top of his head, "and now, I want to make the most of whatever time we still have. Do you think you can give me that?"

After another sob, Alex managed a nod before throwing his own arms around Sampson and holding him tight as he let out all of his tears. After a while, Alex let out a deep breath and pulled away from Sampson as he wiped his eyes.

"Alex," Sampson said, placing both of his hands on Alex's shoulder, "it's going to be okay, right?"

Alex looked to his father and nodded, "Yeah… it's going to be okay…"

After a few moments of silence, Alex's phone began to ring. The boy fished it out and checked the caller ID, "Marcoh?" he questioned before answering it, "yes?"

"Alex," Marcoh's voice echoed from the other end of the line, "there's a dopant near you. It's only one but I need you to handle it."

Alex swallowed, looking to Sampson who nodded back to him in reassurance. Alex then sharpened his gaze, "I'm on it." He said before hanging up the phone.

"We can make plans when you get back," Sampson told him, messing up the boy's hair, "now get going."

"Right," Alex nodded to him before heading out of the cemetery and calling his bike, the boy hopping onto the X-Cyclone as it came around.

{Insert Theme: "Extreme Dream" by Labor Day}

Within ten minutes or so of driving, Alex came to an intersection where cars were being flipped over by a dopant that looked like a giant humanoid pillbug.

"HAHAHA!" laughed the pillbug as he threw it's arms out to the side, "COWER BEFORE MY MIGHT! ALL OF YOU!"

Narrowing his gaze upon the dopant, Alex skidded to a halt and leapt from the bike and punched the Pillbug Dopant square in the face. From the sheer force of the punch, Pillbug stumbled backwards then with a crack of his neck, he glared at Alex.

"That was a mistake kid," he snarled as he began to march toward Alex.

"I've made a lot of mistakes," Alex smirked as he pulled out his Star and Runner memories, "but that wasn't one of them."

"STAR! RUNNER!" cried the memories as he struck the activation buttons of his memories, the X Driver forming around his waist. With a swift motion, Alex slammed his memories into driver and switched it to its active position, "STAR! RUNNER!" roared the memories again as Alex's base red and black rider form materialized around him.

Pillbug threw a punch at Alex, only for Alex to catch the punch and return it with a flurry of his own into Pillbug's gut. As a direct result of the punches, Pillbug stumbled backwards again and held his gut while glaring at Alex.

"YOU DAMN BRAT!" he roared, slamming his foot into the pavement, "WHO THE HELL EVEN ARE YOU?!"

"I am Kamen Rider Xtreme, the protector of this city," Alex told him, pointing a finger at him as he pulled his Star memory from his driver and slammed it into the maximum drive slot in his driver, "and your rampage, ends here!"

"STAR! MAXIMUM DRIVE!" roared the star memory, Alex striking the button on the slot after giving it a moment to charge before leaping into the air into a downward kick.

"XTREME!" roared Alex as his kick crashed down upon Pillbug, "STARSTORM!"

{End Theme - Cut to Black}

**SIX YEARS LATER**

A strange wind blew over Ardent City, the clouds covering the sky as well dressed man stood on the docks by the water's edge with a phone bearing the design of a black stag beetle to his ear.

"Yeah, we just landed but he already ran off," the man spoke as he placed a black hat on top of his head. "Don't worry, I'll find him before he gets into too much trouble. Just keep my garden safe, okay?" he said before hanging up the phone. Reaching into his pocket, he turned to face Ardent City, "There is something in this city, that still makes it cry."

The man pulled out a black gaia memory marked with a vibrant purple J, holding it up high before striking the activation button, "JOKA!"

**Kamen Rider Xtreme will return in:**

**Kamen Rider Xtreme Special - W and Xtreme: Connected Memories**

_**Thank you for following Kamen Rider Xtreme! Keep creating.**_

_**~guncannon109**_


	15. Bonus Material

**Since this is Xtreme's final outing and with it now coming to a close, let's send it out with one final...**

**TRIVIA TIME!**

\- As stated before, this is a combined version of what I had planned for acts 5 Discord and Act 6 End Game. The opening chapters Major's Revenge (which was originally meant to close out Act 4), I Remember You, and Eye of the Hurricane were severally cut down but everything after that is as originally intended with a few changes made where I felt needed. Which I shall go over now.

\- Act Five's opener was meant to be a pair of chapters involving Harpy and Glaive in which Cole worked with Shiore to complete the Biter memory as Harpy and Glaive attacked the school, however due to the time between Act Four and Five taking me so far away from my days in high school I honestly couldn't bring myself to write it. So I scrapped it and decided to debut Cole's Biter form along side Kamen Rider Shift in Major's Revenge. Speaking of.

**\- **Ashley becoming Kamen Rider Shift was meant to lead into her own spin off, however I couldn't think of a story line I liked so she was kept as part of the main team.

\- I Remember You, when it was a two parter, was where I toyed with the idea of bringing in the cast of Kamen Rider W. However, along with packing down the opening chapters of act five, I felt it better to segment off a crossover with W into it's own thing which I am currently hard at work at. Soon be out soon, hopefully.

\- Kat was originally meant to lose an arm at the hand of Crave, however since I am no longer a teenager I decided against it. Marcoh adopting her however was always going to happen however and if she did lose and arm he would have sprung to get her a prosthetic one.

\- Gordan Sampson was originally meant to die during the events of the Violent Fury two parter. For thematic reasons though, I chose to keep him around until the very end and I don't regret that decision.

\- The Inertia chapters is the only arc in Act Five that didn't have any minor/major changes. It is one for one from how I had originally planned it out six years ago.

\- The Mirror Dopant that showed up in One More Day and Moonlight Dance was meant to have a bigger role to reflect a recent confrontation I had. However that chapter was getting too long and drifting too far away from what was meant to be the main focus so I decided to simplify it. No reason to ruin a story line for the sake of being petty.

\- Ashley's girlfriend, Kayla Clemens, is Zokublue from I am Skull Kid's series Renegade Sentai Zokuger. GO READ IT AND KAMEN RIDER OUTLAW!

\- The Shira chapter was the first story for Xtreme I got into my head, and I so very glad I finally got to write it.

\- During the Shira chapter, Alex was meant to descend into Shiore's mind by himself. Alex and Shiore were also meant to become a couple, but truth is they just didn't work in that way at all. Alex was meant to be with Madison and Shiore was meant to be with Carter.

\- The Shira arc was originally going to end with Alex confessing his love to Shiore and the Shira memory being destroyed.

\- In the first draft of the finally, it was Shiore scaling the building in her civilian form as Alex had her Yuki memory. Madison, Ashley and Kat were not present. Madison becoming a rider also didn't happen.

\- Xtreme was originally planned to end with the gate opening and Alex sacrificing himself to close it. The mass resurrection that brought back Sarah, the Minor, Time-Bomb, Cyber, Harpy and Glaive Dopants and the movie riders Slicer, Coroderon, Luarentia and Gamma-Ray did not happen. This change was sparked from the idea used in the Doctor Who episode "The Empty Child" where, as the Doctor himself put it "Just this once, EVERYBODY LIVES!"

\- I will admit and say I shed more than a few tears while writing the Epilogue. It's been a long road from when I started and, while it's not perfect, Kamen Rider Xtreme has been something I will always be proud of. I've met many life long friends through it, and I wouldn't trade that for anything. And, if any of you are reading this, thank you. Xtreme might be over, but there are still many more stories left to tell.

Here's to the future, and as always. _Keep creating._

~guncannon109


End file.
